Exercise and mental health: how moving helps, and when it stops helping What movement does for your mind, how to find something you'll stick with, and how to notice when exercise has stopped being good for you. Find out more
Bullying at school, online and at home: a guide for parents, carers and young people Where bullying shows up — including the quiet kinds at home and online — why some children do it, and what both adults and young people can do about it. Find out more
Adolescent rebellion: growth and development Adolescence is a turbulent time for many families. As children transition into teenagers, they often engage in behaviours that challenge. Find out more
About therapy Providing young people a safe, confidential space to talk about what’s going on, Learn more
Types of therapy Our therapists use different approaches adapting the way they work for each young person. Find out more
Meet the TMH team Our team brings together BACP-accredited therapists and mental health professionals Find out more
Exercise and mental health: how moving helps, and when it stops helping What movement does for your mind, how to find something you'll stick with, and how to notice when exercise has stopped being good for you. Find out more
Bullying at school, online and at home: a guide for parents, carers and young people Where bullying shows up — including the quiet kinds at home and online — why some children do it, and what both adults and young people can do about it. Find out more
Adolescent rebellion: growth and development Adolescence is a turbulent time for many families. As children transition into teenagers, they often engage in behaviours that challenge. Find out more
About therapy Providing young people a safe, confidential space to talk about what’s going on, Learn more
Types of therapy Our therapists use different approaches adapting the way they work for each young person. Find out more
Meet the TMH team Our team brings together BACP-accredited therapists and mental health professionals Find out more
Exam periods put pressure on the whole household. Coursework deadlines, mock results, revision timetables — and underneath it all, a young person who is often sleeping badly at precisely the point they most need to be rested.Stress and sleep are closely linked, and during exam season they tend to pull each other downwards. This post covers where the pressure comes from, what actually helps at home, and how to protect sleep when it’s the first thing to go.Why exam pressure hits so hardThe stakes feel enormous. GCSEs and A-levels shape university options and job prospects, and young people know it. That isn’t an irrational worry — it’s a realistic reading of a high-stakes system.It’s competitive. Grades and places get compared, ranked and talked about constantly, among peers as much as anywhere else.Expectations arrive from several directions at once. Parents, teachers and friends all have hopes, spoken or unspoken. Even encouragement can land as pressure when there’s enough of it.In a 2020 survey by the Association of School and College Leaders, almost all secondary head teachers reported having students whose mental health affected their ability to cope with exams — most commonly anxiety, stress and low mood.Stress and sleep feed each otherSleep is usually the first casualty of exam season, and the one that costs the most.Poor sleep lowers mood, raises anxiety and worsens concentration and memory — which makes revision less effective, which raises the stress, which costs more sleep. It has knock-on effects too: people running short on sleep tend to move less and eat more erratically, both of which feed back into how they feel.Protecting sleep during exams isn’t a nice-to-have alongside revision. It’s part of the revision.Supporting the studyingSomewhere to work. Quiet, comfortable, well lit and free from distractions.A plan. Mapping topics across the available weeks so nothing is left to the final night. Last-minute cramming raises anxiety and retains less.Regular breaks. Away from the desk, ideally moving. A short walk is genuinely restorative rather than time lost.Food and drink to hand. It keeps them going, and it’s a quiet way of showing you’re thinking about them.Do some of it with them. Modelling breaks, walks and reasonable bedtimes works considerably better than instructing.Protecting sleepThings that generally help:Wind down without screens for the last hour. The hardest one, and the most effective.Keep caffeine to the morning — energy drinks especially, which creep in during revision.Avoid heavy meals right before bed.Go to bed when actually sleepy, rather than lying awake to a schedule.Keep the routine consistent, weekends included.If your child is neurodivergent, or sensitive to their environmentSome practical adjustments that many families find make a real difference:Blackout curtains or an eye maskA fan, white noise machine or sleep soundtrackEarplugsA more comfortable mattress topper or pillowA weighted blanket — many people find the steady pressure calming, though it’s worth checking the manufacturer’s weight and age guidanceWhat to sayPraise the effort, not the outcome. “I can see how much time you’re putting in” tends to open a conversation. Predictions and comparisons close it.Let them not know everything. Reminding them that doing their best isn’t the same as being perfect takes pressure off rather than lowering the bar.Listen without fixing. Sometimes the useful thing is to hear the worry rather than solve it.Plan something afterwards, regardless of results. Having a marker at the end of it helps — and deliberately detaching that from grades says something in itself.When to get more supportIf the stress or the sleeplessness persists, or your child seems overwhelmed rather than simply under pressure, it’s worth involving their school. Many have study workshops, pastoral support or counselling available.If it goes beyond what school can offer, professional support is there. We work with young people and with parents in Ipswich and the surrounding areas — call 01473 411324 or email reception@teenagementalhealth.co.uk.