Some students are still struggling with their sleep routines post-lockdown.

Sleep is essential for wellbeing. It affects your mood, your ability to learn and your relationships with others. We are finding that many students are still trapped in their lockdown sleep routines. This may mean being awake through till the early hours of the morning and then dragging themselves out of bed in time to get to school. When asked about their sleeping habits, many say they are awake watching Netflix or scrolling their phones because they can’t sleep. The first suggestion is to remove devices from bedrooms. The temptation to watch movies into the wee hours or to check someone’s Instagram account is very strong for young people. Some students do have the self-discipline to cope with having a device at their fingertips, while others simply can’t resist staying on their device for hours on end, often without their parents' knowledge. One proactive action to help students reset their sleep patterns is to have a discussion around their device use at night time. We would encourage parents to have a talk about this and to help students to get the sleep they need to thrive. Charging phones and laptops overnight in the kitchen or lounge room is a common practice, even though some might try to convince you otherwise.