Below are 10 simple tips to make sure that a healthy child can get the quality of sleep needed to do well in school.

Tip 1. Avoid vigorous exercise within several hours of bedtime. If you wish to play baseball or engage in other sports or vigorous activities then do these shortly after school and not an hour or two before you go to bed.

Tip 2. Although teenagers will frequently spend a lot of time in their bedroom turning it into more of a 'living' than a 'sleeping' room, avoid the temptation to use the bed for anything other than sleeping. Do not sit in bed, playing games, writing, watching TV, reading or anything else but reserve it solely for sleeping so that your body learns to associate climbing into bed with going to sleep.

Tip 3. Although teenagers will sometimes spend a great deal of time in their bedroom and turn it into much more of a 'living' than a 'sleeping' room, avoid using the bed for anything other than sleeping. Do not sit in bed, writing, watching TV, reading, playing games or anything else but reserve it solely for sleeping so that your body associates getting into bed with going to sleep.

Tip 4. At bedtime make sure that your bedroom is quiet, dark and cool. Do not shut your bedroom up, turn up the heat and climb into bed to watch TV. Instead, lower the heat, open the window a bit if you can to let in some fresh air and make the room as dark as possible.

Tip 5. Do not eat a heavy meal too close to bedtime. You certainly do not want to go to bed hungry and taking a light snack prior to bedtime is fine, however climbing into bed on a full stomach can make it difficult for you to fall asleep and affect your quality of sleep.

Tip 6. Do not be tempted to take a nap in the afternoon after school. Should you find that you are so tired that you are unable to keep your eyes open then take a nap but limit it to no more than an hour.

Tip 7. Steer clear of any form of drink containing caffeine after about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. This naturally applies to tea and coffee, but also extends to chocolate drinks and colas.

Tip 8. Make sure that you get up at the same time in the morning, whether or not it is a school day. Teenagers commonly get up late on weekends and in the school holidays and, rather than helping to make you feel better, this simply disrupts your pattern of sleep.

Tip 9. Do not be tempted to stay up late doing your homework or studying for a test. Although this may appear to be the answer to a specific problem in the short term, and may well keep you out of trouble for turning in your homework late or get you through a test, in the longer run your performance will drop and any shorter term benefits will quickly be lost.

Tip 10. At bedtime make sure that your bedroom is quiet, dark and cool. Do not shut the room up, turn up the heat and climb into bed to watch TV. Instead, turn the heating down, open the window a bit if possible to let in some fresh air and make the room as dark as you can get it.

If you follow these 10 tips you will find that within no time at all the quality of your sleep will improve, you will feel much more awake and active during the day and your grades will be on the up.