The importance of sleep cannot be overstated, for your body and importantly also for your brain, mental health and wellbeing. In this article Rose, member of the Somerset Youth Parliament advisory group, tells us about the benefits of sleep and some top tips on how you can get a good night’s sleep.
It’s Sunday night; you had a blast with your family and siblings, and after dinner, you went online to play games with friends. You promised to log off at exactly at 9.00pm, but the game is getting intense. Its late; your assignments are still staring at you, your uniform needs to be ironed out, and you’re so exhausted.
Ever wonder why, on mornings like these, every little thing seems to irritate you, why you lack concentration and struggle to stay awake?
The short answer is you lack enough sleep. Your brain’s screaming for rest!
Sleep (especially at night) is vital for better mental health and wellbeing. As teenagers, we are mostly active during the day and require roughly 8-10 hours of sleep to ensure the brain and body recover. While we sleep our body repairs itself, our brain processes all we’ve learnt and our mind prepares for the day ahead.
If you really want to show yourself some love and perform at your best, here are some tips to help you get the rest you deserve:
- Power down early: turn off screens at least 30 minutes before bed. The blue light from your scree tricks your brain to stay awake.
- Find a rhythm: create and stick to a sleep routine. Going to bed and waking roughly at a same time can help regulate the body.
- Wind down: establish a relaxing pre-sleep activity. This could be listening to music, getting your bag pack ready for the next day, or even a brief stretch session; just something that signals to your body that it’s bedtime.
Don’t be too hard on yourself, breaking bad habits takes time. But I promise when you get enough sleep everyday, you’ll feel more energised and perform at your absolute best.
Rosie
Not just elected members
Did you know that Somerset Youth Parliament isn’t just it’s elected members? Any young person in Somerset aged 10-25 years can become a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group.
For more information about becoming a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group and to join, visit our Join Us page.
