Many young people – and an increasing number of young children – experience problems with poor sleep and stress on a daily basis. Various studies have identified worrying about school and/or the situation at home, as well as smartphone use, as the main causes cited by children. At school, this can manifest itself in concentration or behavioural problems and a decline in academic performance.
Feelings of hunger and the digestion of food are also linked to sleep. Less sleep usually means feeling hungrier, with a particular preference for carbohydrates and fast-acting sugars. Research shows that there is a link between short sleep duration and an increased BMI.
Sleep Week helps us teach children more about sleep. The children carry out their own research. They investigate their own sleeping patterns by keeping a ‘Day & Night Diary’ for four days. The findings from Sleep Week make for a fun and interesting class discussion and can spark a conversation at home between parents/carers and their children about their sleeping patterns. In this way, we improve knowledge and awareness of the importance of good sleep among both children and their parents/carers. Fancy getting started with Sleep Week? Please contact the JOGG team.
On the website (www.uitgerustindeklas.nl For each year group, there are lesson suggestions and ideas for working on the theme of sleep and relaxation over the course of a week or at other times during the school year.
