Is Your Teen Struggling with Sleep?
With a new school year approaching, adjusting to a new sleep schedule might be difficult for your teen. They may have gotten used to staying up late playing video games, sleeping in well past the time school starts, and getting used to longer daylight hours during the summer months. How can parents help their teens make constructive changes to their sleep hygiene?
Why Sleep is Important for Teens
Sleep is an important part of a teen’s brain development. Being able to rest and recharge empowers effective thinking and school performance. According to Sleep Foundation, teens need between eight and ten hours of sleep a night, but 60% of middle schoolers and 70% of high schoolers report that they aren’t getting that amount on school nights. Without enough sleep, teens can have problems with their memory, attention, problem-solving skills, emotions, and behaviors. These problems can all have a negative impact on their academic performance.
How to Help Your Teen Create Good Sleep Habits
As parents, you can help your teen set up a sleep routine that is affective and gets them ready for the upcoming school year.
Set a regular bedtime, even on the weekends. In fact, try to go to bed around the same time as your teen to help promote this schedule.
Have your teen avoid electronics before bedtime. The blue light of phone and tablet screens tricks the brain into thinking the sun is still up.
Create a bedtime routine with your teen. This could be meditation, journaling things they were grateful for that day, or simply deep breathing exercises that help to reduce anxiety. (One of my favorites is 4-7-8 breathing: inhale through your nose for four seconds, hold the breath for seven seconds, and exhale through the mouth for eight seconds.)
Make your teen’s bedroom and environment conducive to sleep. Consider getting comfortable bedding, blackout curtains to keep the late evening sunlight out, and a white noise machine to mask other sounds.
Keep an eye on the temperature in your teen’s bedroom. Temperatures tend to drop at night, and a hot bedroom can make your teen’s body think it’s still daytime. The ideal temperature for sleep is between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
By creating habits and an environment that can improve your teen’s sleep quality, you can help them adjust for the schedule of the school year and set them up for academic success!
