Student Wellbeing
From the Co-ordinator of Counselling and Student Health
The Importance of Sleep
Ms Megan Williams
Ms Megan Williams
Sleep is an essential part of your child’s daily routine. Having a good night’s sleep is important for your child’s growth, learning and development. Sleep restores the body physically and allows your child to feel focused and settled. When your child sleeps well they can retain information better, strengthen their immunity, and improve their mood.
The amount of sleep your child should have each night varies based on their age and stage of development. The recommended amount of sleep for children aged 5 to 11 years is 9 to 11 hours per night. For teenagers and young people, the recommended amount is 8 to 10 hours per night. This amount of sleep is needed for your child to have the optimal level of alertness during the day.
Poor quality sleep is linked with an adverse impact on all aspects of a person’s life, including their physical and mental health. Research shows that approximately 40% of young people experience some form of sleep disturbance, with most not getting the recommended hours of sleep per night. Further studies have shown that many children are missing out on REM sleep, which is vital for learning and memory.
Your child will wake several times during the night due to their sleep cycle. Wakefulness can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. To stay asleep, children need to be able to fall back to sleep by themselves after these brief waking episodes. Being able to self-settle is a particularly important skill to develop as your child starts to attend sleepovers and camp. If your child has difficulties settling by themselves, it is important to teach your child to self-settle at the start of the night and support them to fall asleep independently.
The key to having good quality sleep is setting up a consistent bedtime routine and sticking to the routine each night. This will help your child’s body and mind prepare for sleep. Bedtime routines should commence 30 to 60 minutes prior to bedtime and include activities that help your child relax and feel ready for sleep. Activities include having a bath or shower, reading a book, listening to music, or completing a mindfulness activity. Try to avoid overly stimulating activities at this time, including using a device.
There are a number of research based, free apps that help promote sleep in children and young people. The Black Dog Institute has released the first adolescent-focused app which helps young people improve their sleep. The app is designed for students 12 years and older, but younger children can access the app with parent support. Please see: https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/resources-support/digital-tools-apps/sleep-ninja/ for more information.
The Smiling Mind app has a program specifically to help families establish good sleep routines and support a better night’s sleep. The program includes meditations and tips that can be done individually or as a family. Please see https://www.smilingmind.com.au/ for more information.
For further information on sleep, Just a Thought, a New Zealand based mental health initiative, has released a short animation on top tips to improve your sleep and get it back on track. The animation can be viewed at:
SchoolTV also has information and interviews with leading experts on sleep and ways you can support your child to improve the quality of their sleep: https://pittwaterhouse.schooltv.me/newsletter/sleep