The One Simple Thing Parents Can Do To Improve Student's Performance In School:

Making sure your student has adequate sleep each night will promote performance, memory. and alertness in school. When a child stays up late academic and attention problems can increase significantly. Those students who have less sleep tend to have the most trouble learning new material, recalling old material and completing class work. Several studies from the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent News show that children and adolescents get an hour less sleep per night than they did 30 years ago. This trend may be caused by over-scheduling activities, unenforced bedtimes, and electronics in the bedroom. Children who get enough sleep perform and function better in school, have less behavior problems, and are not prone to frequent mood swings.
 
The preponderance of studies show that adolescents between the ages of 13-21 need an average of 9 1/2 hours of sleep each night. The physical changes (these include tremendous brain growth) that adolescents go through during puberty require the extra sleep. Adolescents are not being lazy. They need more sleep than any other age cohort due to increased brain and physical development.  

Below are some tips to start the school year off right for your adolescent:

- Avoid caffeine after 12 noon
- Avoid heavy studying or computer games before bed as they can arouse the brain.
- Turn off the t.v. before sleep
- Avoid bright light in the evening, such as those emitted by TV and computer screens.
-  Allow more sleep on the week-ends, but no more than three hours as this disrupts your body clock.
- Create bedtime rituals such as reading or listening to soft music

 References: The National Sleep Foundation & Pediatric and Adolescent News

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