Teen Sleep Tips
It seems like a never-ending battle. It begins in the early morning hours, forcing your teen to get out of bed to get ready for school and caps off your evening begging them to get to sleep before midnight. Did those preschool years where they jumped out of bed by 6 am really exist? What happened to your well-trained sleeper? Your angel’s body has been taken over by crazy hormones impacting everything from their mood to their eating habits to their sleep. Left to their own devices, most teens would go to sleep at midnight and wake up at 9 am. It’s not entirely their fault. Melatonin, the sleepy hormone, gets released much later in the teen brain then in the child and the adult brain. There are ways to retrain the teen brain to help ensure that your teen gets a good night’s sleep and is ready to face the school day refreshed.
Just say no to naps: The sleep deprived teen will often seek out a nap after school. They are not getting enough sleep at night after all. However, by napping during the day the cycle of going to bed late will continue. Encourage your sleepy teen to resist the nap. This will make it much easier for them to fall asleep at an earlier time, ideally 8 – 9 hours before they need to wake up in the morning. Once they are able to adjust their bedtime and get a solid 8 hours of sleep, a nap will no longer be needed.
Avoid caffeine containing products for at least 4 hours before bedtime. For obvious reasons, caffeine interferes with the ability to fall asleep. Have your teen avoid coffee, caffeine containing teas and soft drinks and chocolate after 5 pm.
Avoid eating and exercise right before bed. Eating and exercise send signals to the brain that suppress Melatonin release. These activities make it harder to fall asleep.
Stop studying/schoolwork thirty minutes before bedtime. Anxiety prevents us from falling asleep. Having downtime between schoolwork and bedtime helps our brains to decompress and makes it easier to fall asleep.
No screens in bed: Staring at our phone screen or iPad actually tells our brain that it’s still daytime and prevents Melatonin release. When getting into bed all devices should be off, ideally being charged in another room to remove that temptation of just taking a quick peak.
To encourage sleep, have your teen get into bed about 30 minutes before they would like to be asleep. Try to have them stick to a regular bedtime routine every evening. Have them read a book for leisure (not school), look at a favorite magazine, or do a puzzle with only a soft, low watt bedside lamp to help their eyes get tired. This helps to empty the brain of stressful thoughts and strain the eyes a bit to make your teen feel sleepy.
Other stress-relieving, Melatonin inducing tricks: Baths before bedtime help to release Melatonin and encourage a good night’s sleep. Lavender scented oils, pillow sprays help to relieve stress and make us sleepy. Meditation is a simple, quick way to empty the brain of thoughts of help us relax. There are several excellent mediation Apps, such as Simple Habits and Head Space.
Finally, encourage small steps rather than giant leaps. Try to move up the time they fall asleep by 15-minute intervals every 3-4 days. It’s much easier and more encouraging and over time they will achieve that ideal bedtime.