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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

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A-maze-ing sleep

Master these mazes and miss the distractions to get to bed, as you learn how to avoid the things that make sleep tricky.
Plan a session with this activity

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You’ll need

  • Pens or pencils
  • Erasers
  • Rulers
  • A4 paper
  • Tables
  • Chairs
Sleep mazes
PDF – 179.8KB
Download Sleep mazes

Before you begin

  • Print out copies of the ‘Sleep mazes’ sheet so that there’s one for each person.
  • Set up tables and chairs so that everyone can sit and work on their mazes comfortably

Time to a-maze

  1. The person leading the activity should ask the groups what things could make it hard for them to have a good night’s sleep (for example, watching screens, eating too close to bedtime, too much caffeine, stress, heat or humidity, light, and noise).
  2. Everyone should think about which things they find the most distracting when they’re trying to sleep. Does anyone have any habits that make it harder for them to sleep well?
  3. Everyone should talk about why these distractions hold us back when we are trying to sleep.
  4. Everyone should come up with their perfect conditions for sleep.
  1. The person leading the activity should give everyone a ‘Sleep mazes’ sheet and a pencil.
  2. Everyone should try to solve the two mazes on the sheets without looking at the answers. They should use a pen or pencil to draw a single line from the arrow to the bed, avoiding the bedtime distraction symbols inside the maze.
  3. Once they’ve solved the mazes, everyone should try to make their own. The person leading the activity should give everyone some squared paper, a ruler, and an eraser.
  4. Everyone should use a pencil and a ruler to create a maze with a start and a finish, just like the ones they’ve just solved.
  1. Everyone should add some bedtime distractions to their maze. It’s up to them how many obstacles they add and what they include – this is a great chance to get creative.
  2. When all of the mazes are ready, everyone should swap with the person next to them. Everyone should try to solve their new maze. Can they get to bed without getting distracted?
  1. Everyone should come back together and chat about who made the toughest maze. What made it difficult?

Reflection

The group has looked at the habits and other factors that distract us from sleep. Was anyone surprised at how many things affect the quality of sleep? How could people change their behaviour to avoid these distractions? Did anyone find out something new that might have been affecting their sleep?

Everyone then solved a bedtime-themed maze, before making one of their own. Which was harder to solve: the ones on the sheet or the ones drawn by everyone else? What did people do to work out a route to the finish without hitting a dead end or distraction?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

The first maze on the ‘Sleep mazes’ sheet is easier than the second one. If anyone struggles with this kind of puzzle, they could stick to the first one. 

If anyone gets stuck, a friend or adult could give them a hint.

Master maze-makers might like to attempt to draw a different-shaped maze (for example, a rectangle or circle, instead of a square). See how difficult they can make their puzzles for others to solve.

People can make their mazes as big as they like. Print the mazes bigger if anyone needs you to. 

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

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There are loads of puzzles and games that could be made to help others learn about the struggle for sleep. If the group enjoyed making mazes, they might like to create a board game, where players must get to their bed, avoiding the bedtime distractions as they go. Everyone should think about other popular board games (for example, Monopoly) and how they make it difficult for players to reach the end.

If this is too ambitious, the group could think about making bedtime-themed playing cards for a Uno-style card game, where you must put down all of the distractions and habits that stop you falling asleep first to win the game.

Let everyone be creative with their mazes and when discussing bedtime distractions.