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Healthy Sleep Practices theme (Sleeping well)
In our co-production workshops with young people for the ‘Healthy Sleep Practices’ theme, we discussed the ‘sleep steps‘ that we can take during the day to get a good sleep at night, and how we can have a better sleep-wake cycle. Young people advised us on the best ways to engage children in the ‘sleep steps’ and in thinking about the importance of sleep for our wellbeing. Two tools stood out as the best and most engaging ways: A graphic comic and a professional pop song!
Resources
‘Sleep Well, Being’ the RR Sleep Comic
In our comic, Zlack and Groog meet Cortisol and Adenosine. But who are they? Find out all about the roles of Cortisol, Melatonin, Adenosine and more….
‘Somni’ – the R.R Sleep & Daylight song
Hidden in the lyrics of the song are the ‘sleep steps’ that we can take during the day to help us sleep at night!
Click here to hear the song on Spotify!
Click here to see the song on YouTube!
Click here for more details.
Healthy Sleep Practices poster
Booth presentation a video demonstration of the sleep booth which was presented during the Resilience Rucksack fairs
The Science behind the Sleep Steps
Getting a good night’s sleep is important for our physical and mental health and can have a significant impact on our mood. Sleep for children and teens is particularly vital for growth and development. We can leverage (use) environmental cues, or signals to our body, such as sunlight, indoor lights, darkness, body temperature, exercise, and timing caffeine and food intake, which are grounded in our physiology, to improve our sleep.
For example, a great deal of research evidence supports that daylight viewing soon after waking up is the most potent stimulus for wakefulness, and has a powerful and positive impact on our ability to fall asleep that night and to stay asleep.