A recent survey found that 1 in 4 US high school students fall asleep in class at least once a week. Many students walk around half asleep or off in their own dream world.
To put it simply, students are just not getting enough sleep. Many students have to be up and ready for the bus at quite an early hour and with the infinite distractions available on the internet these days and the unlimited TV programs on show many students don't get to bed till after midnight. This leaves students with a limited amount of time for sleep. Now you might think 'I don't need that much sleep or what's an extra hour of sleep going to do?'
The answer is....a lot.
Numerous studies have shown that during deep sleep our memory functions are enhanced and information that was in our short term memory is transferred over to our long term memory. You might have had the experience of remembering something better after you've 'slept on it'. If so, this is why. Also studies have shown that after a good night's sleep there is an increased insight. Like a sudden gain of deep knowledge or understanding. That's like if you've ever woken up and had a solution to a problem pop into your head. This is all due to a good night sleep. By a good night sleep we're talking a minimum of 8 hours. 9 hours is even better but not realistic for many students so aim for 8 and a half hours if you can. Now this advice might sound old or overly simplistic but it's proven. And its advice given by all top students. They know the value of a good night sleep. Make sure you do too. Reward yourself with a good night sleep and see what happens to your grades.
Sweet dreams....
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Hey Mike,
ReplyDeleteI think you are on to something here. I like the way you say reward yourself with a good night sleep. thats a very empowering way of looking at it.
Thanks so much for your blog comment
Cheers
David Rose
Generation Health
www.thecellulifesystem.com
As a parent of two young adult children, I have just survived the challenges of interacting with school systems. So often it is not about learning, but about being able to master the skills to be a student. Not only did our boys lose a lot of sleep through the years, trying to jump through the hoops, but parents also lose sleep stressing out about how to be an advocate for our children and also coaching our children through the life lessons of managing systems.
ReplyDeleteI'm delighted that you are providing counsel on study skills and the essential need for sleep. Learning to the balance will be a blessing for many families!
Hey Mike, I love this blog. This is so important and it fits nicely with the things I strongly believe and talk about to parents.
ReplyDeleteI will certainly be following your blog from now on.
Thanks so much.
Vicki