Teachers to team up to improve sleep health of teenagers

Published: 04 March 2010

A community project pilot to be launched in Glasgow will see youngsters being taught the importance of good bed linen, mattresses and sleep ethics, for the sake of their health.

Glasgow City Council is to team up with a recognised sleep counsellor to provide a number of lessons for teenagers on how they can avoid distractions and ensure their bed pays dividends in terms of health, it has been reported.

The Scottish Herald explained that concerns were raised by the council over pupils' inability to get the required nine hours of sleep a night they need.

Bellahouston Academy and St Paul's Secondary are two of the four schools pioneering the pilot, working with Nikki Cameron to understand the importance of bedding, mattresses and times of rest.

The concept of sleeping less is neither macho nor a virtue, according to Ms Cameron.

She told the Herald: "Sleep is important for emotional and physical wellbeing and also for a young person learning, because that is when memories are processed, and the brain can store the learning."

The NHS continues to recommend a good sleeping environment for children - ideally a room that is "dark, cool, quiet, safe and comfortable", perhaps made so with great quality bed linen.

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