If you are a parent of one or more of the 1.8 million children who are homeschooled in America, then you know one thing: children accept rules and suggestions more wholeheartedly, when they understand the reasons for them. Sleep has a powerful impact on a child’s health, cognitive performance, and overall wellbeing. If you are worried that your child isn’t getting as many hours of zzz as they should be, why not make sleep the subject of your next science class together?
Groovy Statistics on Sleep
Ignite your child’s interest in this topic with infographics, memes, and fascinating statistics about sleep and sleep deprivation. Pull out studies that won’t elicit a yawn, if not a “Wow!”. One lab study by scientists at the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy, for instance, found that the brain cells that destroy worn-out cells go into overdrive during chronic sleep deprivation. This leads cells to destroy useful brain connections – a powerful reason to make sleep a priority. Another study by scientists at the University of Washington on 11 pairs of identical twins found that the twins who were sleep deprived had a much weaker immune system than those who enjoyed great sleep. One entire homeschooling lesson can be devoted to making bullet points that summarize what major studies have found on sleep deprivation. Your child will probably begin to understand the significance of good sleep very quickly.
Sleep and Learning in Homeschooled Kids
Homeschooled children are an intellectual bunch, with recent studies showing that there is a strong correlation between homeschooling and academic achievement. If your child values learning at their own pace as much as you do, they may be surprised to find that good sleep can improve their cognitive abilities. Study after study has shown that poor sleep hinders memory, causes mental lapses, and affects cognitive performance.
Creating a Strategy Together
If your first science session on sleep is devoted to sourcing interesting studies and visual material, the next session can involve creating a research-backed sleep strategy. Sleep experts normally recommend specific steps you can invite your child to adopt. These include having a bath before bedtime, practicing a little meditation and breathing, and engaging in progressive muscle relaxation. When children master these techniques, they can utilize them wherever they go, including during sleepover nights at a friend’s or when they are camping. At home, they might like to experiment with essential oils (read up on the power of oils like lavender to relax the mind), either using these oils topically or simply placing them into an essential oil diffuser.
Sleep Experiments for Kids
Don’t forget to include a few fun experiments centered around sleep. Activities might be as simple as recording someone in the home snoring, watching a younger sibling nap and recording how often they change their sleeping position, or completing tests after a good night’s sleep, and completing similar tests after they (or you) have slept less than the required hours on one given night. Your child might enjoy jotting down how long their pet sleeps, to contrast the hours that pets and humans need to function well.
Sleep is a fascinating subject that will make a perfect topic for a homeschool lesson on health and wellbeing. By finding fascinating videos and graphics, challenging your child to find weird and wonderful statistics on sleep, and conducting a few experiments, you can also help your child find good reasons to sleep better every night. Allow them to add elements they feel will enhance their bedtime routine, and don’t be shy to play with soothing colors and de-stressing essential oils.
Credits:
Article submitted by: Karoline Gore
Photo by Snapwireand Pixabay from Pexels
