帮孩子提升睡眠质量的终极秘诀|Top tips on how your children can sleep better

不言而喻，建立良好的睡眠时间安排益处多多。睡眠可为身心提供持续运动和思考所需的能量，而无论课堂内外，运动和思考对学生而言都很重要。

具体而言，睡眠对身心健康有着积极作用。身体健康至关重要，因为它可以为学生提供能量，保证他们能够积极参与体育课程和其他基于体育运动的课外活动。当身体得到充分休息时，人们通常会感到心情愉悦并且更加乐观。沮丧和焦虑的情绪也会随之减少。睡眠还可以增强一个人的认知能力，使学生拥有解决问题的能力和更具创造性的思维，从而有效提升学习能力。

然而遗憾的是，学生很容易因为做家庭作业、看电视或浏览社交网站而养成晚睡的习惯。因此，我们非常有必要鼓励学生打破这个循环，形成规律的睡眠时间。根据美国国家睡眠基金会的调查，这个年纪的学生所需的建议睡眠时间为八到十个小时。

我们的睡眠模式由两种生物机制进行调节：

如果睡前接触电视或手机等大量人造光，会抑制大脑分泌使人感到疲倦的褪黑素。人造光源会让我们的身体误以为那是白天。从而导致生物钟紊乱，使我们清醒的时间比正常时间长

睡眠健康基金会针对学生给出了四条睡眠建议。

这似乎是显而易见的，但制定正常的作息时间表确实可以使学生按时睡觉并养成健康的生活习惯。设置闹钟作为睡觉时间提醒可能也会对学生有帮助。

如前面所说，孩子每晚应保证大约八到十小时的睡眠。父母可以鼓励孩子以这个时间为目标，这样可以使他们在上学期间集中注意力。

在床上的时候，我们的注意力需要集中于睡眠，而非社交网站、电视节目或家庭作业。思维活跃并身处人造光源中将对深度睡眠产生负面影响。确保孩子上床后不会受到周围事物的干扰，帮助他们获得整夜安眠。

养成静心习惯、保持放松的状态将有助于睡眠。放松的方法因人而异，例如洗澡、阅读一些轻松读物或者进行冥想练习等。鼓励孩子在每晚睡觉前养成静心的习惯，让这个习惯成为他们规律作息的一部分。

It goes without saying that there is a string of benefits to establishing a good sleep routine. Sleep provides both your mind and body with the power to keep moving and thinking, which are essential components for students both in and outside the classroom.

Specifically, sleep has positive effects on physical health and mental wellbeing, which are extremely important. Physical health is essential as it gives students the energy to actively engage in PE lessons and sport-based extra-curricular activities. When someone is well-rested they tend to feel happier and more optimistic. They also feel less frustration and anxiety. Sleep also enhances one’s cognitive ability, so students are able to problem solve and think more creatively, effectively enhancing their learning capabilities.

Unfortunately, it’s very easy for our students to get into the habit of falling asleep late, whether it’s because they’re doing homework, watching TV shows or scrolling through Facebook. Therefore, it’s important that they are encouraged to break that cycle and find a sleeping regime that, according to the National Sleep Foundation, allows them to get eight-to-ten hours – the recommended amount of sleep needed at their age.

Our sleep patterns are regulated by two biological mechanisms:

By exposing ourselves to artificial light before we go to bed, such as from television or our mobile phones, we dampen the secretion of melatonin in our brains, the hormone that makes us feel tired. Sources of artificial light trick our bodies into believing it’s daytime. This confuses our circadian clock and forces us to stay awake longer than we should.

The Sleep Health Foundation has four tips for a good night’s sleep that apply to students.

Decide on a bed time. It may seem obvious, but establishing a time to go to bed is an excellent way for students to sleep on time and create a healthy routine. It might also be useful to set an alarm as a reminder that it’s time to go to sleep.

As mentioned earlier, children should be getting about eight-to-ten hours of sleep a night. Parents can encourage them to aim for this amount of time to improve their concentration levels at school.

When in bed the mind needs to be focused on sleeping and not on Facebook, a TV programme or homework. Being mentally active and around artificial light will have a negative impact on being able to sleep deeply. Ensure your children don’t have distractions next to them when they get into bed so they can get a proper night's rest.

Performing a winding down ritual to relax can be very useful. This is different for each person and can include taking a shower, some light reading or a meditation exercise. Encourage your children to perform a wind down ritual before they go to bed every night so that it becomes part of their regular routine.