STUDENT WELLBEING

BY MATT EDWARDS (SECONDARY CHAPLAIN)

H.A.L.T - Tired

Do you recall playing with the blue and red sphere as a kid, and you had to put the yellow shapes through the corresponding openings? Imagine one of those openings signified tiredness. There is only one shape that will go into it though. It’s the ‘sleep’ shape. No matter what you do, unless the sleep shape goes in the tiredness opening, you will only be left with more tiredness. We cannot replace sleep with other things.

Why did I describe sleep and tiredness this way? Because there are so many different things that can keep us from getting sleep. ‘Catching up later’ tends to leave us in sleep debt, often with less quality sleep, such as sleeping in. FOMO deems sleep less important than whatever else is going on. Even unwinding/chilling/decompressing can just be distraction through means of overstimulation. Likewise, there are numerous things that can block us from getting sleep too. Lack of body tiredness due to lack of exercise, snacking too late in the evening, ruminating, insomnia… the list goes on.

While our kids are growing, much healing and learning happens through the process of sleep. Muscles repair during sleep. The immune system is strengthened. Minds reinforce learnings from the day (sign me up for this type of education!) And getting enough sleep helps with focus, concentration, problem solving, mental capacity etc.

How can we help our kids with sleep?

Again, we hope that these are things that our kids learn to implement themselves as they grow.

This is a good aim:

5-13 years old: 9-11 hours of sleep,

14-17 years old: 8-10 hours of sleep.

While they are young we will need to guide this for them. Creating a bedtime routine can be helpful. I can’t believe how quickly my kids hop in bed when it’s time to read a book! Keep it consistent with positive engagement.

Routines can help with older kids too, but this might require a bit more flex. But recommendations are: No screen time 1 hour before bed, no screens in bedrooms. Getting enough exercise might help if they say ‘but I’m not even tired!’ (1hr of vigorous activity a day, 2 or more hours of non-sedentary activity a day). Their routine might begin with putting their phone away on charge or shutting down their laptop.

Yes, we have different tendencies when it comes to sleep, but it is often the same cure. Some of our kids might need further help to get there, a GP is a great place to begin.