
Session 1 · THRIVE: Habits
Screen detectives
- 10 minRead 'Why you get sleepy', the section on light and screens. What does evening light do to melatonin?
- 20 minDesign detectives: in groups, list features that keep people on apps (autoplay, streaks, endless scroll, red badges, notifications). For each, say what it does to your brain and who benefits.
- 15 minNotification tally: plan a one-day tally of how many notifications you get (or a whānau member's device, with permission), and at what times.
- 5 minChoose one screen setting you could change this week (turning off one notification, grayscale, a charger outside the bedroom).
Session 2 · THRIVE: Relationships
Group chats and big changes
- 10 minScenario: the group chat is still buzzing at 11:30 pm and you want to sleep. What could you say that is kind and clear?
- 15 minWrite and swap 'I'm logging off' lines. Discuss why it can feel hard to be the first to leave.
- 15 minBig changes: read three short, anonymous stories (starting a new school, moving from Tonga to Auckland, a family whose house flooded). What changed for each person's sleep, stress and friendships? What helped?
- 10 minTalk with a partner: who helped you through a change? What did they do?
Getting started
Give students a ready-made list of app features to sort instead of generating their own.
Stretch
Design a feature an app could add that would help young people sleep, and explain why a company might not want to add it.
Checkpoint
Groups can explain at least three design features that hold attention, and each student has a kind, clear way to leave a late-night chat.
Activities for this week
- App design detectives: How are apps and games designed to keep us on them?
Useful this week
- Sit Less, Move More, Sleep Well: guidelines for children and young people ↗ The official NZ advice on sleep, movement and screen time for ages 5 to 17.
- Screen time and sleep ↗ How screens affect melatonin and sleep, with practical tips.
- Sleep needs in teenagers ↗ Why the teenage body clock shifts later and what helps.
- Vaping and young people ↗ Plain facts about vaping, nicotine and the law in New Zealand.
- Vaping myths and facts ↗ Checks common claims about vaping against the evidence.
- Teens, alcohol and drugs ↗ Why alcohol affects a growing brain differently, and the NZ advice for under-18s.