Ensuring your teenager gets enough sleep can be an up hill battle. We asked Seed’s Sleep Coach for Children & Babies, Emily Guiver, to explain why it’s so difficult to get teens to bed at a reasonable time and more importantly what we can do to help them get those all important zzzzzz’s!
How many teenagers actually get the ideal 8 – 9 hours of sleep per night? Not Enough!
So our teens are not well rested, they aren’t ready to learn and engage, they can’t optimise their emotional well-being and are even limiting their ability to grow and be fully healthy.
Unfortunately it’s very common for teens to get much less than the recommended amount of sleep and there are a variety of reasons why…. .
- Excessive screen use
- Social media pressure (and access 24/7)
- Stress and anxiety
- Delayed sleep phase (common in adolescence – more details to follow)
- Pressure to work, revise or complete homework
Due to natural changes in the circadian rhythm that happen during adolescence, including a much later release of melatonin (the sleepy hormone that works alongside our circadian rhythm – and which is also negatively affected by blue light from screens), teenagers tend to not feel tired enough to actually fall asleep until closer to 11pm. However, many teens need to get up quite early on weekdays in order to get to school or college and are therefore not getting a minimum of eight hours sleep. Long term this can lead to a build up of sleep ‘debt’, or sleep deprivation. Asking a teenager to get up at 6.30am for school is like asking an adult to get up at 4.30am, it’s no wonder it’s near impossible to rouse them or get them moving in the mornings!
To counteract this, many teens will then lie in at the weekends and rarely emerge until lunchtime, which actually contributes to the problem. Similar to jet lag, this irregular sleeping pattern can cause a disruption to the circadian rhythm and leave teens still feeling tired and sluggish even if they lie in. This in turn can lead to them going to sleep even later the following night as their sleep pressure, or ‘drive’ to fall asleep needs to build up enough again.
Below are some tips that may help your teenager to achieve more sleep at night and wake each morning more refreshed and ready to go!
- Limit screen time for at least an hour before bed – we hear this all the time, but blue light emitted from screens can block melatonin production and lead to an even later delay in feeling sleepy enough to fall asleep. Ideally remove temptation altogether and don’t allow mobiles or devices in the bedroom at all.
- On the same point as above, it is a good idea to keep the lights dim in the lead up to bedtime, which helps signal the brain to increase melatonin production naturally.
- Bright light exposure immediately upon awakening can help increase alertness in the mornings as it signals the brain to increase cortisol, as well as helping to reset the circadian rhythm, in the case of delayed sleep onset.
- Avoid caffeine in the evenings (ideally none at all!) but in order to protect sleep, not for at least 4 – 6 hours before bedtime. Be mindful that caffeine can stay in the system for up to 12 hours!
- Reduce junk food and sugar intake and don’t let your teen eat too late – give their bodies time to digest their dinner, trying to get to sleep on a full stomach can be very difficult, not least uncomfortable!
- Ensure your teen is getting enough exercise during the week (the NHS recommends at least an hour a day of moderate activity for 5-18yr olds) and encourage fresh air and daylight exposure at the weekends even if it’s meeting friends at the park.
- A warm bath around 30 mins to an hour before bed will help relax your teenager and help them feel more ready for sleep. This can be part of their regular bedtime routine, which is also important – doing a set few things in the same order each night helps signal to our brains it is time for bed.
- Try to wake your teen at a reasonable time in the morning at the weekends and avoid long lie ins. In real life, this can be difficult to stick to, but aim to wake them around 8-9am latest so that they will be ready for bed at a reasonable time later that evening, and they don’t sleep half the day away. This will only make rising early on Monday morning extra difficult!
- Reduce anxiety and stress where possible – give your teenager ample time to talk to you about their worries or concerns well away from bedtime where you can. A journal, mindfulness or breathing techniques can help.
- Suggest they listen to calming music or a sleep meditation as they wind down ready for bed. Many teens struggle to ‘switch off’ and have lots of worries that keep them awake. Often distracting themselves will help to relax and calm them enough to drift off sooner, and resist the temptation to check social media ‘one more time’
Overall, I would always advise parents to involve their teenagers in improving their sleep patterns, gently reminding them why it’s important to get enough sleep, but allowing them ownership of the issue and giving them the opportunity to choose the strategies that work best for them, and their schedule.
Work backwards from the time they need to get up in the morning, to figure out what time they ideally need to go to bed in order to get at least 8 hours sleep – also accounting for wind down time.
It also helps for parents to understand that it’s very normal for teenagers to want to stay up late and sleep in late – this is due to natural changes to their sleep structure as they enter puberty and not something they are usually in control of!
If you’d like to find out more or need further support please contact emily@seedwellness.couk or visit www.seedwellness.co.uk/emilyguiver
