Secret Ingredient to Success at School
SLEEP
We all know what we need to be healthy individuals: good diet, exercise, mental wellbeing and enough sleep. But do we pay as much attention as we should to the latter?
Ongoing research shows that sleep is the relevant factor in making us successful human beings. Yet it is the aspect that is the most neglected. I know! I do it myself. It is so easy to stay up late to finish something off, but if you are really exhausted going to bed, research tells us that we are likely to fall into deep sleep, but then, during our periods of light sleep, may wake up thinking about the work we have just, or have just not managed to completed.
The result is a disturbed nights sleep. Anyone who wears a Fitbit will know that there will be many periods of wakefulness, leading to shorter times of sleep. Just ask yourself how many times you had a green star for your sleep in the last week? If you’re like me, that may only happen when I’m on holiday!
Sleep has become such a problem that the World Health Organistation (WHO) has now declared sleep loss an epidemic throughout the industrialised nations. Matthew Walker writes “There does not seem to be one major organ within the body, or process within the brain, that isn’t optimally enhanced by sleep (and detrimentally impaired when we don’t get enough).”
We all know that lack of sleep or poor quality sleep leads to many diseases, weight problems and mental health problems to name but a few. It makes sense, of course, to see that the best way to improve performance must be by ensuring we get enough sleep and the quality of our sleep is as good as it could be.
As I have already said, nutrition matters, as does exercise, but I hope you can see now that without adequate sleep, we will not be able to reach peak performance.
As a mum, I can remember only too well how exhausted I felt when my new baby came home and I had my sleep disturbed. There were days when I felt as though every mundane thing I did was a huge effort, taking all my energy. However, we have heard of many people who have seen the lack of sleep as a heroic role. We’ve been told of many famous, prosperous people who have managed on very few hours of sleep each night. We were often informed that Margaret Thatcher functioned on 5 hours of sleep a night. However, most researchers agree that being deprived of sleep means that we make worse decisions, think less well and that we are usually less enjoyable to be around! In fact, some people would even say that we are ‘grouchy!!!!!’
Some people are not ‘morning people’ by nature – I am not at my best first thing in the morning, as I am sure my husband would be eager to inform you! This is also true of youngsters as I am sure many parents would agree. There has even been talk of starting school later in the morning to accommodate their sleep patterns!
Working, revising and consolidating your work is very important, but especially around exam time, don’t burn the candle at both ends. Sleep is a foundational piece of our lives that we cannot do without. Remember to get enough sleep so that you can function at your optimum rather than reducing the amount of our sleep, therefore putting ourselves under even more pressure.