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Sleep
It is very important to get a good night’s sleep. Children
9–12 years old need 10–11 hours of sleep during the
night and 13–15-year-olds need 9–10 hours a sleep each
night. If you find it difficult to fall asleep, you should try
to relax before going to bed. That means no television
or computers, because it is said that the light from the
screen doesn’t have a relaxing effect on the brain. A good
way to relax is to have a warm bath before going to bed
or to read a good book. Getting regular exercise also
helps (if you don’t do it right before going to sleep) and
there is a lot of relaxing music that is good to listen to
last thing at night. If you have a mobile phone, remember
to turn it off before you go to bed or else there is a chance
that you will be disturbed during the night. All drinks
that contain caffeine can also disturb your sleep because
caffeine is stimulating for the brain. A long-term lack
of sleep can affect your school work and concentration,
among other things.
Sugar
Do we need sugar? We don’t really need all the sugar
that is added to many food products. According to
the Public Health Institute of Iceland, the total daily
consumption of white sugar should not be more than
about 50 g, which is about 10% of the calories that you
need in one day. One bottle (1/2 litre) of cola, which
could be a common size for one person to drink,
contains about 50 g of sugar. That is your maximum
portion of sugar for one day. Most likely you will
consume other foods with sugar during the day so your
sugar intake might be sky high!
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