Given how much technology the average person uses throughout the day, it can be challenging to do so in a way that doesn’t negatively impact sleep! This is especially true for students, who complete a majority of their homework using computers, and the temptation to work from bed or other places of rest sneak in.
At Green Ivy, we recognize how healthy sleep is a critical vehicle for success. We emphasize to our students, predominantly teens, and tweens, that regular and lengthy sleep is vital to the healthy development of the pre-adult brain. Quality sleep bolsters learning, reduces stress, and enhances athletic performance. There are also innumerable long-term benefits, including reducing the threat of serious diseases. 
It’s all well and good to outline the benefits of healthy sleep, but the question remains: How exactly can students improve their sleep?
First and foremost, consistency is key. By making sleep habits regular and routine, we strengthen our brain’s ability to distinguish sleep mode from waking mode. For example, getting out of bed at the same time every morning, and committing to a predictable lights-out hour every night, can help establish healthy circadian rhythms, which are the brain’s biological processes that control whether you’re awake or unconscious.
Here are our tips for students:
- Be wary of excessive light. Ideally, keep your room cozy and dark. Move TV setups and similar devices to other rooms, if possible. Think about it: Our brains are evolutionarily wired to associate sunlight with wakefulness and darkness with drowsiness. Our circadian rhythms depend on a straightforward relationship between light and dark to separate sleepy time from active time. Therefore, lean toward dim lighting in your bedroom, and stay away from screens before bed! Blue light, the high-energy wavelength of light emitted from your smartphone, can have devastating effects on your circadian rhythms if you use tech too close to bedtime. To increase the benefits of sleep, strive to keep the hour before bedtime free of screens.
- Simple steps during the daytime can set the foundation for healthy sleep. Physical activity throughout the morning or afternoon primes the mind for restful sleep, and numerous studies have demonstrated that daily exercise allows for longer and deeper sleep during the nighttime.
- Naps can help, too, but only when they’re done right. Research continues to show that snoozes of 30 minutes or less can enhance alertness and performance throughout the day, but that naps lasting longer than 30 minutes tend to impair natural sleep cycles and may exacerbate tiredness. Keep naps short and sweet. We realize that this is easier said than done: those prone to lapsing into deep, hours-long daytime naps, may find that it is a good idea to avoid naps altogether and focus on maintaining responsible nighttime sleep practices.
We realize that social media, and growing productivity demands, can make it challenging for teens to get the roughly 9–10 hours of sleep they need per night to thrive. Fortunately, by following the simple, consistency-based habits outlined above, students can quickly become the most rested and stress-free version of their daily self.