TOP THINGS EDUCATORS CAN DO
TO GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP
G
etting a good night’s sleep
seems to be the holy grail
of the modern age. Every
friend I meet today seems
to complain about their inability to
slumber, usually whilst sipping on a
cup of coffee and scrolling on their
smartphone. Strange that!
Sleep is vitally important for our
performance, physical and mental
health. If you suffer from poor sleep,
and the statistics suggest you probably
do, then don’t despair. And whatever
you do don’t immediately go reaching
for the sleeping pills. You may find
them a little bit moreish. Yikes!
Instead, have a quick scan below of the
three top things you as educators can
do to get a good night’s sleep.
Prioritise sleep
As educators, you likely spend much
of your day attempting to instill in your
wards the important things in life. Such
as respect. Yet, as adults, you seem
to think its ok for you to completely
disrespect what’s important for you.
Namely, sleep.
The most essential thing anyone can
do to improve their sleep is to start
taking it seriously. We all just expect
falling asleep to be easy but it’s not,
it’s something we have to work on
and we may have to make sacrifices
elsewhere in life to find a solution.
Routine, routine, routine omnipresence of WIFI, the lines
between the workplace and our home
life have become so blurred to almost
becoming invisible. Checking email
is usually the first thing we do in the
morning and last thing we do at night.
Stop that. Stop that right now!
Routine is vitally important for a
healthy sleep life. As a teacher, you
would never dream of being late and
missing the bell, would you? No, of
course not. You need to bring that
same level of devotion to timekeeping
to your bedtime. Yep, bedtimes are
not just for the children you teach, they
are for everyone. The last thing you want to see before
you lay ear to pillow is an email from
the principal about next week’s parent-
teacher meeting. That particular stress
ball can wait until the morning. You’ve
got to rebuild some boundaries and
the best place to start is the bedroom.
No work of any kind should ever pass
through your bedroom doors.
Such as avoiding alcohol in the
evenings, saying no to any caffeine
after midday and most importantly
avoiding anything remotely stressful in
the hour before bed.
We, humans, are creatures of habit.
The brain adores and craves regularity.
Why? Because it saves it energy. If you
begin to go to bed at the same time
each and every night the brain will
quickly learn this and begin to prepare
the body for sleep in advance. Don’t
believe me? Well, try it for one week
and pay attention to how quickly you
fall asleep. What do you have to lose?
Keep work out of the bedroom
Banning
your
phone
from
your bedroom can have other
unexpected positive results too.
Well there you have it, three top tips to
help you get an A+ on your next sleep
test. The most important thing to
remember is that sleep is complicated
and it requires you to put in a little of
work to get right. Sound familiar? Yeah,
it’s a bit like Maths homework.
Thanks to smartphones and the
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a self-confessed sleep addict. When I’m not curled up in bed
getting my eight hours you’ll likely find me at my desk researching and writing
about all things slumber. My colleagues and I at https://www.Sleepadvisor.Org/
fully believe that changing how well you sleep can change your entire life. From
your appearance to your weight and mood even your life expectancy. Sweet
dreams!