Sleep your way to exam success.

Don't let this happen!

As we go through the next few months many of our teens and young adults will be facing important exams.

Being in good shape physically and mentally is vital for both revision and exam-time itself and getting into a good work routine, eating a good diet and fitting in both exercise and sleep all play their part.

It is very hard to think about sleeping in the 24 hour world we live in today.

TV’s in bedrooms, computer games and apps such as Snapchat, Skype and What’s App? make staying up too late very tempting but failing to make time for sleep and, surprisingly, failing to sleep at the right time itself can do serious damage to the effectiveness of study periods.

Why do we sleep?

All mammals sleep and sleep has been seen in most other species including insects and fish.

Sleep deprivation has very serious consequences. Rats deprived of sleep for 2-3 weeks die just as they would if they had been starved for the same period.

Our body clocks are designed for us to be awake during the day and sleep at night when it is dark. Research has shown that we sleep better and are healthier when we fall in with our own inbuilt routines. As light levels decline towards night the pineal gland secretes increasing amounts of melatonin which is associated with drowsiness and sleep. As we sleep our brain goes into well defined activity patterns all of which are necessary for normal function and as night is followed by morning cortisol levels rise and we waken. Muscle repair and memory consolidation occur during sleep and growth hormone released. Appetite regulation is affected by lack of sleep.  And when you sleep less your body has less time to produce cytokines, hormones which help the body’s immune system, leaving you more vulnerable to common infections.

Sleep Cleans the Brain!

Because the brain uses 20% of our energy there is debris requiring removal produced every day and probably the most important recent sleep-related discovery has been the “glymphatic system” which is being suggested as the body’s cerebral clean-up service. Recent research indicates that this is similar to the lymphatic system, present only in the central nervous system and a bodily resource which clears this residue of cellular activity from the brain and which is active during sleep. As one scientist said “you don’t clear up during the party” and it is once we have settle down to rest and we enter the phases of sleep that the business of clearing away proteins such as beta-amyloids and the tau proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease can take place. Failure to sleep enough to allow this process to take place may actually have long term consequences and so we can see that there are very good reasons to make time for enough healthful sleep throughout our lives.

Getting Sleep Right

We need different amounts of sleep at different stages of life, teenagers need between 8 1/2 to 9 1/4 hours per night to be at their peak and it turns out that the old adage “Sleep on it“is in fact very good advice. People who have had a good night’s sleep beforehand learn tasks better and retain the learning better if they also have a good night’s sleep afterwards. Secondly, lack of sleep slows thinking, makes it harder to focus and pay attention.

There are many guides to good sleeping habits but I think that these, adapted from the Mayo Clinic’s advice are very clear and easy to follow.

           7 Top Tips for Healthy Sleep

1.      Stick to a sleep schedule: Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.

2.      Be careful with what you eat and drink: Neither overeat nor go to bed hungry. Alcohol and caffeine can disrupt sleep but nicotine can too, so it is important to avoid these chemical stimulants particularly close to bedtime. Cola drinks, cocoa, tea and coffee all contain caffeine so they are best avoided after 6 pm. Drinking too much of anything is going to make nocturnal trips to the toilet a necessity, too.

3.      Get into a bedtime ritual: Stop studying and unwind before you get ready for bed. Get into habits that your body recognizes as cues for sleep. Avoid stimulation, and be aware that screens -including TV - can inhibit relaxation. The blue light emitted by Smartphone’s has been shown recently to be particularly disruptive and it is recommended that they are not used after 9 p.m.

4.      Get comfortable: Try and make your bedroom as sleep friendly as possible. Cooler is better for bedrooms and try to cut out light and noise.

5.      Limit daytime naps: Although a nap can be refreshing particularly if you have been studying very intensively it is better not to nap for too long as it can interfere with night time sleeping. It is recommended to stick to 10- 30 minutes in the mid-afternoon.

6.      Take time to exercise:  Physical activity improves mood and can help you to fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply. Avoid vigorous exercise late in the evening as it can make you too energized to fall asleep.

7.      Manage stress: The basics include getting organized and setting priorities. Take a break when you need one and make time to relax. It may help to jot down what’s on your mind before you go to bed and then set it aside until the next day.

Sleep well and good luck!