Teens and Sleep
During the teenage years, adolescents’ bodies and brains are experiencing significant development and changes. This can affect many areas of a teen’s life, including sleep patterns. During puberty, adolescents go through physical changes that can shift their natural circadian rhythms. As a result, teens can have a hard time falling asleep before 11 pm. However, sleep is essential to development. Read on for more info on teens and sleep and how to help them get enough.
Due to early school start time, sports and extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, and busy social lives, many teens are not getting enough sleep. Additionally, a lot of teens like to stay up late and sleep in. Some parents may also worry their teens sleep too much. In reality, 14-17-year-olds need 8-10 hours of sleep a night. This sleep contributes to a teenager’s development of their brain, cognitive processing skills, risk-taking and decision-making abilities, physical health, emotional and mental health, and academic performance.
Helping teens get more sleep
There are many ways to encourage your teen to get an appropriate and healthy amount of sleep.
Model sleep habits as a parent. This means keeping a consistent sleep schedule, no caffeine in the evening, and exercising regularly. Develop a relaxing before bed-time routine. Studies show that direct parental involvement is also helpful for teens when setting bedtime limits.
Encourage your teen to go outside in the morning. Exposure to sunshine can help regulate their circadian rhythm, which leads to falling asleep easier at night and waking up more easily in the morning.
Exercise helps with deeper sleep and can help teens fall asleep faster. Aim for 60 minutes of aerobic activity for adolescents.
Talk to a doctor. Doctors can educate teens on sleep habits and screen for sleep disorders (especially if you think your teen is sleeping too much, snores, or seems exhausted all the time despite getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night).
Help teens notice and realize any connection between them feeling good and them getting more sleep.
Restrict driving privileges if teens are not following a consistent sleep schedule. Sleep deprivation can lead to car accidents.
Try afternoon naps, as these are better for sleep patterns than sleeping in. A 30 to 45-minute nap works best.
Help your teen rework their schedule and reconsider commitments to make sleep and rest a priority. Often, our schedules can get overly busy without us even noticing it.
Ban screen time at night (this includes a computer, phone, tablet, and TV) for an hour before bed. Light from screens can suppress melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone. Additionally, social media and news exposure can also cause anxiety which may make it harder to fall asleep.
Remind teens to not eat too much or too little before bed. Feeling too full or too hungry can be uncomfortable and disrupt or prevent sleep.
Create a room for your teen to sleep in that is dark, cool, quiet, and comfortable. This will encourage better sleep quality, and remember that teens might need blackout blinds to block out early sunlight–especially in the summer.
Encourage teens to think of their bed as just for sleep. Try getting them a comfortable chair or desk to spend time at in their room, instead of hanging out in bed.
Talking to your school board about starting school later – 8:30am is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. You can also help teens sleep in as much as possible in the morning. You may be able to make them breakfast or encourage them to prep for school the night before, including showering and picking out clothes for the next day.
A major summer shift in your teen’s sleep schedule can be detrimental to their mood and staying awake when school starts back. Try to limit how late teens stay up during the summer. Talk to a doctor or sleep specialist if they will need a significant adjustment to get back into a sleep schedule for school in the fall.
If your teen has a racing mind before bed, encourage them to try journaling or writing down things they have to do tomorrow. This can help reduce late-night worrying. A therapist can also help teens find ways to reduce stress.
Are you looking for more support for yourself or your child? Please reach out to us. Our team of therapists is here to provide support and guidance. We look forward to connecting with you.
