School administrators in China have received accolades for allowing kids to sleep in tents so they may get better rest by laying down on the ground.
Xingfuhe Elementary School in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, eastern China, handles things differently than other Chinese primary schools. The Qianjiang Evening News stated that the school allows kids to sleep for 40 minutes at midday in tents put up in large event halls. According to Zhou Hong, the headmaster of the school, they began their “sleep lying down project” one year ago by placing mats on the floor for pupils to use during nap time. The goal of the initiative was to help students get better sleep and enhance their overall health. In her assessment, pupils who sleep on their desks are prone to numbness in their arms and legs, poor spinal development, and poor sleep.
In May, the school asked kids and parents how they felt about sleeping in tents during naps, and thus far 150 pupils have signed up to do so.
Zhang Songjun, a teacher at the school, said that pupils are permitted to set up their own tents and are encouraged to adorn their tents, post signs on the tent flaps, and make their own sleeping regulations.
According to Headmaster Zhou, the school is working to instill a sense of independence in its pupils as well as encourage them to pay attention to the quality of their sleep. “Students set up their own tents and sleep inside, this is their own separate space,” she said. “Their independence has grown a lot, an indispensable quality to instil in kids while growing up.”
The school’s sleep project has received a lot of recognition because of the creative and proactive approach that it takes toward the relationship between sleep and education.
