Ask Sam letter

Hi there,

It can be very stressful and difficult to cope when you don’t get enough sleep. Sleep allows your body to rest, repair itself and grow. And not getting enough sleep will have an impact on how you feel.

There are lots of reasons for not sleeping, such as having nightmares, bad dreams, feeling uncomfortable, worrying about something, feeling stressed or anxious. But there also things you can do to try and help you sleep. Having a warm drink, listening to relaxing music and having a warm bath can all be ways to help you relax. You can find more info and ideas to try for problems sleeping.

You mention that bad memories keep coming into your head. One way that might help you to manage this is to write the memories down in a diary or journal to get them out of your head. Knowing that the memories and thoughts are safely away can mean that your head is clearer and more able to relax. You could try this in the Locker or writing it down somewhere.

Having less sleep, worrying and feeling low can affect other areas of life like school, friendship, family. And it can be especially hard to manage situations and stresses on top of feeling tired. Feeling like this for a long time can grind you down.

It can help to speak to someone about the way that you feel, like a family member, teacher or an adult you trust. It can take a lot of courage to speak out about problems and things that are going on for us or to ask for help. Especially if we don't know how they'd react. But sometimes it’s the only way to get the help we need.

If you're unsure about speaking to someone you know, you could talk it through with a counsellor at Childline who would listen and support you. You can also check out the Childline message boards to see how other young people are coping in a similar situation.

Take care,

Sam