Sleep For TEENS

You still need all the routines in place for teens as for younger children when it comes to sleep.

You still need a bedtime, a run up to bedtime where teens wind down and habits in place to remind the physical body that sleep is coming.

Hopefully you have had a chance to put these routines and cues in place before your child reaches the teenage years - if not - now is definitely the time.

As children become teens they can be more involved around the discussion about when is a ‘good’ time for bedtime and what elements could be helpful for the wind down and bedtime routine.

As much as some people would like to see humans as more like machines, we are actually still very human - so to sleep well as a teen you will need cardiovascular exercise, and it would still be a very good idea to tie sleep to a bedtime story/reading - although this will increasingly be an independent activity.

Bedtime is not a good time to start worrying about the next day or an embarrassing moment from earlier that day. Young people should be reminded that those discussions should take place with a parent in the earlier evening.

Bedtime is also not a good time to cram homework. Plans should be made ahead of time to complete the work, or leave it for a discussion with the teacher the next day. If the outcome is less that satisfactory a new plan for homework completion can be hatched.

Screen time should be limited especially before bed. Listening is a better idea. Calming music, audiobooks, and if really necessary, on occasion white noise. As with other ages efforts should be made to maintain flexibility - lots of different ways (with structured routine in place) for the teen to find their way to sleep.

Finally - no phones in the room. They should be plugged in to charge - hopefully hours before bedtime at a central location, not to be checked until well into the next day! :)