• Recover and prepare – Sleep helps our bodies and our minds to recover from the day and prepare for tomorrow. Too little sleep and those tomorrows will be tougher.
• Sleep promotes a healthy mind – Scientists have found that there’s a strong relationship between getting enough sleep and feeling well and happy. Not getting enough sleep can cause low mood and even make depression and anxiety worse.
• Focus – Scientists have shown that having a good sleep will help you concentrate during the day and also helps your brain to organise and store the information you have learned during the day. Clever.

The Sleep Council recommend the following hours of sleep according to your age:

• 10-11 hours of sleep a night for 7-12 year olds
• 8-9 hours of sleep for 12-18 year olds.

The above is a useful guide but it can vary by person and the changes your body is going through. If you feel tired during the day and lack energy, it maybe that you are not getting enough sleep. Check out healthy sleep tips here

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/healthy-sleep-tips-for-children/

If you feel that you are not sleeping well most nights, struggling with waking up and with day to day activities, then you may need to talk to someone like your GP to get yourself checked out. What you eat and drink can also have an impact on sleep, and if you struggle to get enough sleep you may want to try to avoid drinking tea, coffee and other caffeine products, particularly with meals.

There is a link below to the British Dietetic Association which provides a fact sheet on food and mood:

https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/food-facts-food-and-mood.html