InClass

We share no-nonsense tips to help students and teachers sleep better.

If a student falls asleep in the middle of a lesson, do you need to reevaluate your teaching style?

Probably not.

Research from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention suggests that most high school students don’t get enough sleep. In fact, according to the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System report, only 27 percent of high school students had eight or more hours of sleep per night on average.

Unfortunately, the number of students getting eight-plus hours of sleep is trending in the wrong direction. Between 2007 and 2013 the number hovered right around 31 percent of students. So the drop to 27 percent suggests students’ sleep patterns are worsening.

This doesn’t have to be the case. You and your students can all get better rest using the following three tips.

First, try to stick to a consistent sleep schedule — yes, even on the weekends. This may be difficult at first, but a steady sleep schedule will help you fall asleep and wake up more easily. It will also improve your quality of sleep.

This is the point where we have to make the obvious suggestion to choose to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Consistency doesn’t matter when you go to bed at 1 a.m. and wake up at 7 a.m.

Second, avoid being in front of screens starting two hours before bedtime. The blue light emitting from your phone and other screens can suppress your melatonin production — a hormone that regulates your circadian rhythm. Adding insult to injury, checking our email before bed can be stressful and lead to trouble sleeping.

Of course, parents might think pulling a student away from their phone will be next to impossible. But not all hope is lost: iPhones have a “night shift” selector within the display and brightness settings. This prevents blue light emittance. Likewise, a simple download of the software f.lux will allow you to eliminate blue-light from your computer screen at night.

Third, make sure your sleep environment is dark and comfortable. Even small amounts of light can interrupt your sleep.

Invest in blackout curtains, cover blinking lights (like the pesky Roku box), and put your phone face down. Need a night light? Use a red bulb, which has a much longer wavelength than the blue light that prevents sleep. We sleep better when it’s cold, too. We know how Arizona electricity bills can be (even in the fall!), but a consistent good night’s sleep is worth a few extra bucks!

As you know, technology use before bed can cause bad sleep. But during the day it can be used to increase reading scores with these four apps that improve student reading.