Teenage pupils need sleep counselling
Research has found that teenagers surviving on less than five hours sleep a night are at a 71% higher risk of depression than those sleeping the full eight hours. Other research has also found a link between low exam results and not getting enough sleep.
A sleep counselling programme is currently being piloted in four Glasgow secondary schools and aims to teach pupils tips about how to sleep properly. The teenagers are learning about the importance of routine and why late night TV and video games should be avoided.
Although the scheme is working well, the charity is calling on the Scottish Government to provide the funding which will allow them to expand.
Director of the charity Jane Ansell said “We would like the Scottish Government to intervene to fund the training of more sleep counsellors to deal with the growing problem of kids who just aren’t functioning through lack of sleep. “Children need sleep to reach their full potential. You wouldn’t send somebody to school without having the right amount of food, so why would you send them without enough sleep?”
Read the original article here.
Tags: Depression, exams, insomnia, sleep deprivation, teenagers