It has been felt for some time now that too little or poor quality sleep in teens leads to a drop in grades at school, but it was not until recently that a research study confirmed that teenage children with poor sleeping habits do in fact have lower grade point averages.

Below are 10 simple tips to make sure that a healthy child can get the quality of sleep needed to do well in school.

Tip 1. Avoid vigorous exercise within several hours of bedtime. If you wish to play baseball or engage in other sports or vigorous activities then do these shortly after school and not an hour or two before you go to bed.

Tip 2. Avoid eating a heavy meal close to going to bed. You clearly should not go to bed hungry and eating a light snack prior to bedtime is fine, but climbing into bed on a full stomach can make it difficult for you to fall asleep and affect the quality of your sleep.

Tip 3. Set a regular time for going to bed and do not vary this time by more than a matter of a few minutes from one day to the next.

Tip 4. At bedtime make sure that your bedroom is quiet, dark and cool. Do not shut your bedroom up, turn up the heat and climb into bed to watch TV. Instead, lower the heat, open the window a bit if you can to let in some fresh air and make the room as dark as possible.

Tip 5. Steer clear of any form of drink which contains caffeine after about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. This naturally applies to coffee and tea, but also includes colas and chocolate drinks.

Tip 6. Do not be tempted to take a nap in the afternoon after school. Should you find that you are so tired that you are unable to keep your eyes open then take a nap but limit it to no more than an hour.

Tip 7. If you find that you are unable to fall asleep within say 15 or 20 minutes of getting into bed then do not just lie in bed trying to get to sleep, because the more you try the harder it will become. As an alternative, climb back out of bed and do something such as reading a book or listening to some relaxing music. As soon as you start to feel tired, climb back into bed and you should fall asleep in no time at all.

Tip 8. Make sure that you get up at the same time in the morning, regardless of whether or not it is a school day. Teenagers normally get up late at the weekends and in school holidays and, instead of making you feel better, this simply disrupts your sleep pattern.

Tip 9. Avoid the temptation to take a nap after school. If you do find that you are so tired you cannot keep your eyes open then go ahead and take a nap but for no more than 45 minutes or an hour.

Tip 10. Should you find that you are unable to get to sleep within about 15 minutes of climbing into bed then do not simply lie in bed trying to get to sleep, because the harder you try the harder it will get. Instead, get up and do something such as reading a book or listening to some relaxing music. As soon as you start to feel tired, get back into bed and you will be asleep in no time at all.

If you follow these 10 tips you will find that within no time at all your quality of sleep will improve, you will feel much more awake and active during the day and your school grades will improve.

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