Healthy schedule for teenagers

For teenagers aged 12-18 years old, there is no universal standardized healthy routine template that is accurate to the minute. There are only three core judgment criteria: sleeping enough for 8-10 hours a day, the circadian rhythm remaining stable for more than 21 consecutive days, and the ratio of mental work, physical activity and relaxation during the daytime waking hours is roughly 3:1:1. As long as these three standards are met, whether it is an "early to bed and early to rise" or a "night owl" routine, it belongs to the category of health.

Don’t believe it. Last month, I accompanied a friend to the Children’s and Children’s Health Department for consultation. I happened to meet a little girl in the second grade of junior high school. The schedule her mother printed for her was posted all over the desk. It was accurate to get up at 6:12, have to memorize 20 words at 6:28, and 22 :03: She had to lie down and close her eyes. As a result, the little girl couldn't bear it after ten days. During class, her eyelids were as heavy as glue. She didn't even respond when the class teacher stood in front of the table. In the end, her attention level was 40% lower than that of ordinary children. The gain outweighed the loss.

When it comes to sleep windows, academic circles have always had different views. Domestic mainstream children's health research recommends that the deep sleep period should be between 22:00 and 6:00 the next day. This period is the peak period of growth hormone secretion. Continuous deep sleep for more than 3 hours has the best effect on height development and immunity improvement. This is also the core basis for many schools to require day students to go to bed before 22:30. However, many studies in the field of exercise physiology in Europe and the United States have suggested that as long as teenagers keep a fixed schedule for more than one month, such as going to bed at 23:00 and starting at 7:00 every day, and the total duration of deep sleep is sufficient, the secretion level of growth hormone will not significantly decrease. There is no need to force children who are naturally more energetic at night to go to bed early, which may easily cause sleep anxiety.

If you really don’t know how to arrange it, you can refer to the adapted version for most ordinary middle school and high school day students. Just adjust flexibly: you don’t have to force yourself to get up before dawn to study questions. Get up around 7 o’clock. When you get up, stand by the window and bask in the sun for two or three minutes. It will relieve sleepiness more than two cups of iced coffee. Just follow the school’s rhythm in the morning and attend lunch at noon. Be sure to squeeze in 20 to 30 minutes to lie down on the table and take a nap, and don't use that little time to study questions. I talked to a class teacher at a provincial key point who has taught graduating classes for 20 years. He said that among the top 10 children in the grades he has taught, 9 have unshakable lunch break habits. The remaining one is a special case who is born with less sleep. Ordinary people really can't learn it. Don't rush home after school in the afternoon. Run around the playground twice or play badminton with your classmates for 10 minutes. Just move until your body feels slightly warm. Otherwise, as soon as you get home and sit down at your desk, you will definitely start to feel confused by eight or nine o'clock, and you won't be able to finish a few questions until 12 o'clock. Don’t always scroll through short videos in between homework. Stand up, stretch and pour a glass of water. It’s more relaxing than lying down and scrolling through your phone for 5 minutes. As for bed time, try not to exceed 23:00, unless you are rushing to review occasionally during the mid-term or final period. If you stay up after 12 o'clock every day, it will seem like you have studied for an extra hour, and you will have to spend three times the time to catch up on the knowledge points you missed in class the next day. It is really not cost-effective.

Someone must ask, if everyone stays up until 12 o'clock, won't my child fall behind if he goes to bed early? The adolescent health survey data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2023 makes it very clear: adolescents who sleep less than 7 hours a day for 3 consecutive months have a 37% lower concentration level than those who sleep 8 hours, and a 29% higher error rate in mathematical operations. This is equal to the extra hour you stay up, and the efficiency is less than half of the normal state. In fact, it is a loss. Some children are born with "night-time excitement" and are much more efficient at memorizing things and doing math at night than in the morning. They can also adjust their schedules appropriately. As long as they go to bed at 23:30 and wake up at 7:30 every day, are not sleepy during the day, and all physical examination indicators are normal, there is no need to follow the "standard early to bed and early to rise" template.

There is another pitfall that many people step on: don't sleep in for more than two hours on weekends. For example, you usually wake up at 7 o'clock, and sleep at most until 9 o'clock on weekends. If you sleep until noon all at once, it is equivalent to artificially inflicting jet lag on yourself. You will have to be comatose for at least three days on Monday to recover, which will further affect your state. Don’t blindly believe in the “Tsinghua University North University master’s schedule” posted online. I’ve known a few kids who were admitted to Qingbei University before. Some of them got up at 6 o’clock every day, and some had to sleep until 8 o’clock every day. The key is never to get up earlier than others, but to find the right rhythm of your own energy. Use the time when your memory is good to memorize, and the time when your thinking is clear to answer questions. Rest when you are tired, and go to sleep when you are sleepy. It works better than any stuck schedule.

To put it bluntly, a healthy routine is never a shackle for you. It is to help you adjust your body to the most comfortable state. You can sink into it when you study and get high when you play. It is more useful than any fancy forms.