World Sleep Day ‘Make Sleep Health a Priority’

Sleep is an important part of a person's daily life and sleep health is one of the pillars of good health. It can help with people’s moods, energy levels, diet, memory and alertness.

The World Sleep Society launched the World Sleep Day campaign, 16 years ago. The campaign used positive messaging to raise awareness of the health benefits of good quality sleep.

This year’s World Sleep Day theme is a call to action to ‘Make Sleep Health a Priority’. Sleep is essential to health, as it helps:

• support memory and learning
• clear waste from the brain and promote brain health
• the immune system to clear bacteria and viruses
• to recycle old cells and maintain our bodies and energy levels

But healthy sleep doesn’t simply mean ‘enough sleep’ and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.  People have different home set-ups, family dynamics and lifestyles so when it comes to healthy sleep, it requires each person to consider their circumstances and environments to aid healthy sleep.

Here are some things to consider:

• How can you control your environment for sleep?
• When is your bedtime?
• How much sleep do you get per night?
• Do you feel satisfied with your sleep?

Starting with these questions helps people start to make a sleep plan and prioritise sleep health.

Sleep information pack

As part of World Sleep Day, Clare Jenkins, Designated Clinical Officer, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, has designed an information pack for parents and carers of children and young people with autism and ADHD.

It includes tips, advice and suggestions on how to go about creating a sleep routine for a child or young person with autism and or ADHD.

You can read and download the Sleep Information pack.