ABSTRACT
This chapter covers the two areas of teenagers’ lives that are probably the most significant in terms of their wellbeing and mental health: sleep and use of digital devices. It is a good idea to revisit this topic each academic year as the lifestyle choices teenagers make change according to their age. Whilst this lesson topic inevitably has more didactic content, care still needs to be taken to present ‘good’ lifestyle choices as options rather than as a diktat. The key is to try to win the argument rather than demand a change in behaviour. Both lesson topics are relevant to Years 5 and 6 and apart from the teacher being more didactic, no major adjustments are needed. At this age, pupils’ habits in relation to sleep and digital devices are likely to be still under the guidance of grownups, but even so, some will have started to sacrifice sleep for social connection.
