Sleep Awareness Campaign aims to improve sleep and boost health for young people

Norfolk County Council has launched a new Sleep Awareness Campaign which highlights the importance of good sleep for health and wellbeing in young people. 

Specifically targeting those aged 14 to 25, it focuses on three themes including mobile phones, exercise, and natural light, providing tips for getting a good night's sleep and offering a range of resources to help achieve better quality sleep. 

Evidence shows a link between sleep deprivation and depression and reduced mental wellbeing, which is particularly prevalent amongst young people.  Adolescents should achieve between nine to ten hours of sleep every night, but early school starts and later bedtimes often mean young people are getting much less than the recommended level. 

Norfolk County Council has produced five video shorts in conjunction with young people, to encourage them to: 

• Schedule 'night shift' on their mobile from 8pm - 7am. 
• Avoid using their mobile one hour before bed. 
• Put their phone on 'do not disturb' mode when they go to bed. 
• Get at least 20 minutes of daylight every morning. 
• Do regular daily exercise. 

It also encourages parents and carers to support their young people by setting a realistic time to go to bed, avoiding stimulating activities one hour before bed, and making sleeping areas warm and comfortable. 

Councillor Bill Borrett, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: "We know that poor sleep impacts your mood, and can make it more difficult to deal with stressful situations. More importantly it is linked to a range of short and long-term physical health complications. It is a fact that good quality sleep will give you more energy, boost mental health and make you feel less hungry. I hope that this campaign helps Norfolk's young people feel empowered to take control of their sleep schedules and establish healthy routines to improve their overall health and wellbeing."

Dr Rebecca Rollinson, a Clinical Psychologist specialising in sleep and youth mental health who works at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, added: "It is great to see this campaign being launched. Young people typically need more sleep than adults but can often really struggle with getting to sleep.  

"We all know how awful it feels when we're not sleeping well, but when this continues for weeks or months at a time, it can really start to impact on a young person's mental health and wellbeing. This campaign highlights practical strategies to help with getting off to sleep more easily." 

For more information and to access all the available tools and resources to support better sleep, visit www.fyinorfolk.nhs.uk/sleepbetter