If you didn’t know this already, know that it’s natural for teens to fall asleep late and wake up late. Aside from the change in adolescent circadian rhythms and the shifting of preferred sleep times to later, studies also indicate that teens need more hormones for growth, and growth hormones are made during sleep, so teens need to sleep longer for their physical wellbeing. The problem with teens sleeping late is that they don’t ended up getting enough sleep most nights. Poor sleep will usually cause teens to be cranky, sad, moody, and sleep-deprived teens tend to be apathetic. Teens who get poor sleep have problems getting along at home and at school, and they often have poor grades. They are also more at risk for car accidents, making the problem of teens and sleep even more serious.
Teens who stay up until the wee hours of morning on weekends have problems getting their bodies to fall asleep early on Sunday night so they can be fresh for school on Monday. Many teens claim to nod off in their first class, as they cannot wake up. I try to get most teens I work with to stick to a schedule to eliminate sleep disruption as much as possible.
What Can Parents Do To Help Teens Sleep Better?
Parents can do a lot to help their kids create healthy sleep habits. They can start by creating the right sleep environment. Teens need a quiet bedroom with blackout shades in the windows. Make sure kids turn off computers and cell phones before they go to bed and have them turn any clocks with the face toward the wall, so they don’t check the time all night long. It is important to realize that one’s own bed should only be used for sleep and kids who hibernate in their rooms can have poor sleep. If a teen is playing video games, studying, eating and doing anything else on their bed, this confuses the connection between sleep and bed. Parents should get their teens out of their bedrooms. This helps create the association between the bed and sleep.
Bright light is activating, so reducing this late in the day for a teen who is a poor sleeper is helpful. If you notice that your teen has difficulty winding down at night, have them wear sunglasses in the afternoon and into the evening. Alternately, your teen can use light to help them wake up in the morning, simply by opening the shades right away. A hot bath or shower before bed will also relax the body for bedtime and boost deep sleep. After the shower keep your room cool (about 68 F) to cool your body. One study showed that sleep happens when the body cools. Wakefulness occurs when the body temperature warms up.
Providing proper meals for your busy teens is very important, and at night you can help them induce sleep by giving them high-carb snacks before bed. This makes you feel warm and sleepy. Try pretzels, cereal, graham crackers, fresh fruit, dried fruit, fruit juice, vanilla wafers, saltines, popcorn, or toast with jam or jelly. You can also have your teens cut caffeine out for a few days to see if that helps. Many people find that chamomile and valerian herbal teas help them feel sleepy.
Some great habits that can become methods to lifelong wellness and help your teen be healthy and stress free are practicing mindfulness and yoga. If your teen is stressed, you can help them relax with soft music or by doing yoga with them right before bedtime. Aromatherapy is said to boost sleep as well, use night scents like orange blossom, marjoram, chamomile, and lavender scents.
Most importantly get your teen into a rhythm that allows them to get the right hours of sleep that they need. As with adults, teens vary in the number of hours they need compared with their peers. One simple way to figure out how many hours of sleep your teen needs is to see what time they naturally go to bed and wake up during the weekend. Then calculate the number of hours they slept and aim for that number every night along with the above mentioned techniques.
