Sleep is essential for your teenager’s physical, mental, and emotional development. Yet, as many as 70% of teens get far less than the 8 to 10 hours of sleep they need each day.
Often, teenagers are so busy with school, work, activities, and friends that they don’t set aside enough time to get the restorative sleep they need.
Unfortunately, persistent poor quality or insufficient sleep can have significant emotional, academic, and health consequences.
But your teen can learn how to create a healthy sleep routine — and as their parent, you can help.
In this article, we explore why sleep is important for teenagers, how you can help support your teen, and specific sleep strategies so they start getting the rest they need to thrive.
Why good sleep is important for teens
Quality sleep is essential for everyone, especially for teens who are still growing and developing. But it can be challenging for them to make sleep a priority.
However, your teen is more likely to prioritize it if they understand how regular restorative sleep can help them feel better and perform better at school, work, or other activities.
Benefits of restorative sleep
Getting 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night can help:
- Improve their mood — decrease irritability, anxiousness, or moodiness
- Increase their productivity at school, work, or other activities
- Improve their self-control over their emotions, impulses, and how they react in social situations
- Reduce stress
- Make it easier to manage everyday difficulties and challenges
- Increase their energy levels
- Improve concentration, memory, creativity, and analytical thinking (e.g., decision-making and logic)
- Feel better physically
- Improve their immune system
- Reduce the risk of medical illnesses
How parents can help teens establish healthy sleep practices
As a parent, you want the best for your teen. But as teens exercise more control over their day, it can be hard to strike the balance of helping to support and educate them without them feeling like you’re taking over.
However, you are important and can help your teenager learn how to create a balanced schedule that makes space for routine sleep. You can help them enforce limits, develop routines, set expectations, and encourage them — being a supportive place for them to ask questions, get help, and receive positive reinforcement.
Here are some specific ways you can help your teen as they establish healthy sleep routines.
Discuss the importance of sleep (and their challenges to getting enough)
Your teen has likely heard the phrase, sleep is important. But to avoid eye-rolling and ensure they’re listening, dig deeper. Make the information relevant to them, their situation, and their goals.
For instance, if your teen is striving for an academic scholarship, help them see how consistent quality sleep can help improve their thinking, help them retain information easier, improve their scores at school, and more.
If your teen is aiming for an athletics scholarship, explain how sleep helps their body, improves their reaction times, and aids in concentration.
But this isn’t just about sharing information. This is a discussion. Let them know you want to work with them and are there as a resource, guide, or support as they figure out how to establish healthy sleep practices that fit them.
Additionally, take time to listen to what makes it hard for them to get regular sleep. Brainstorm solutions together or be a sounding board. This approach helps give them control and provides an opportunity to practice key problem-solving skills that they’ll need throughout their life.
Set a good example by establishing healthy sleep habits for yourself
Getting regular sleep isn’t just hard for teens. Adults can struggle with this too. As your teenager works on setting up good sleep routines, consider taking this opportunity to improve your own as well.
You can work together and support each other, share challenges, and let each other know what solutions helped (or didn’t help).
Support their efforts by helping them be consistent
Let your teen know that you’re there to help and support them. For instance, ask your teen what they want their sleep schedule and routine to be. Then work with them to see how you can help support them as they set up new habits.
You may be able to help by:
- Providing prompts and reminders
- Brainstorming ways they can change the environment to cue their new routines (e.g., setting an automated reminder at a set time to get ready for bed)
- Letting them know your expectations, especially for being consistent with their new sleep habits
- Being a resource and safe place for them to discuss challenges in establishing the new sleep routines
Let them know you’re proud of them taking control of their sleep and health
Everyone likes it when people important to them point out what they’re doing right — including your teenager.
Periodically let them know that you’re proud of them for taking steps to improve their health and sleep. Share what you’ve noticed, whether an improvement in their energy, seeming more relaxed or happy, or being in a better mood.
Even if they occasionally backslide, let them know you see them trying, working on their consistency, and making sleep a priority.
9 Strategies on How to Sleep Better for Teens
You and your teen can work together to incorporate the strategies and routines that make sense for them.
As your teen adds new sleep habits and practices, they’ll want to keep their overall sleep hygiene in mind. Sleep hygiene involves their habits and environment since sleep is impacted by things happening around us (the environment) and activities (habits and routines).
Here are some healthy sleep practices and routines your teen can use to get the restorative rest they need.
1. Optimize your teen’s bedroom for sleep
Your teen will sleep best in a room that encourages sleep. Look for ways to keep light and noise to a minimum, such as:
- Keeping screens (e.g., phones, tablets, televisions) out of your teen’s room at night
- Using thick or light-blocking curtains
- Keeping noise near your teen’s room to a minimum as possible
- Using soothing sleep sounds (e.g., ocean waves, rain sounds) or white noise at low volumes to block noise or help your teen relax at bedtime
- Pointing alarm clocks away from your teen if they tend to stare at the clock when trying to fall asleep
2. Create a nighttime routine
Having a nighttime routine cues your teen’s body and mind that it’s time to prepare to sleep. The routine helps them wind down.
When setting up a routine, make it last at least 20 minutes and involve calm or quiet activities. For instance, it can involve your teen getting ready (brushing their teeth, washing their face) and then engaging in a soothing activity before bed.
Some ideas your teen can consider include:
- Reading a non-electronic book or magazine
- Practicing deep breathing or relaxation exercises
- Journaling about positive events that happened in their day
- Listening to calming music
3. Set a consistent sleep schedule
Going to bed at the same time each night helps your teen’s body know when to expect sleep. This consistency helps your teen’s body start preparing and winding down in anticipation of sleeping, helping them fall asleep faster and stay asleep.
While this is a critical strategy, it can be hard for teens whose weekday and weekend schedules may vary greatly due to different demands and responsibilities. Work with your teen to help them figure out a reasonable time that allows for as much consistency as possible.
Explain to them that too much variability on when they go to sleep from day to day can lead to sleep problems. That said, it’s also okay if they stay up later than usual every now and again, like for a special occasion. The goal is to set up as much consistency as possible.
4. Create a balanced schedule that makes time for sleep
Teens are busy. They have to balance school, homework, friends, planning for their future, and other activities outside the home, like sports or jobs. It can be a lot to juggle, particularly for teens who put extra expectations on themselves.
Work with your teen to help them simplify and reduce overscheduling themselves. Help your teen learn how to prioritize, let go of activities and responsibilities when necessary, and how to set realistic expectations for their time. This is an important set of skills that can help your teen now and in the future.
5. Keep the bed only for sleeping
Your teen should only use their bed for sleeping, not for homework, lounging, or talking on the phone. This step lets them associate the bed with sleep only — making it easier to fall asleep at bedtime.
6. Shut off screens an hour before bed
Yes, this is hard for teens (and many adults). But physicians and research emphasize that the blue light from electronic screens can suppress melatonin and lead to poor sleep. Ideally, keep phones, tablets, and other electronic devices out of the bedroom at night. Also, shut off the sound or turn off phones so late-night notifications and texts don’t wake your teen up.
If your teen has to use a device close to bedtime (like to complete homework), adjust the settings to remove or reduce the blue light from the screen at night. Your teen can also try wearing blue-light-blocking glasses.
7. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening
Caffeine can feel like an effective tool to get more done. But this stimulant can interfere with sleep, especially if it’s used too close to bedtime.
If your teen drinks coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks, talk to them about the impact of caffeine on their body and sleep. Ideally, they will get enough sleep that they won’t need caffeine to feel awake. But if they do have caffeine, discuss with them the importance of limiting their intake and avoiding it in late afternoons and evenings.
If they’re in social situations like at a coffee shop, encourage them to choose caffeine-free alternatives.
8. Get physically active every day
Being physically active daily helps reduce stress, improves your teen’s health and mood, and enhances sleep. Ideally, your teen should get at least 60 minutes of exercise a day. But it doesn’t have to be all at once.
When incorporating exercise, consider spending time outside in the sun. Also, try to avoid strenuous exercise too close to bedtime as that can wake your teen’s body up too much initially before it slows down in preparation for sleep.
9. Use techniques to calm their mind before bedtime
Teens are often under a lot of stress and pressure, which can contribute to feelings of anxiousness, sadness, and overwhelm. Some teens may have so much going on that it’s hard to “shut off” their thoughts as they try to juggle so many activities and responsibilities.
If your teen is having trouble calming their mind before bed, work with them to incorporate strategies to help them unload their thoughts so they can relax.
Some strategies that can help include:
- Journaling about their thoughts, feelings, and stress. They can write down what’s on their mind, concerns, or things they want to remember — whatever is keeping them awake. Then, in the morning, they can review what they wrote. Let them know they can always talk with you the next day about worries, stress, or what is on their mind. You can be a listening ear or help them problem-solve solutions. But let them know you’re there to help and support them — not to take over.
- Incorporating relaxation or visualization techniques to calm their mind. Relaxation techniques like guided imagery, deep breathing, meditation, and positive visualization can help reduce stress and anxiety, helping them relax so they can sleep.
- Create a to-do list or write out the thoughts keeping them awake. Not everyone likes to journal, but listing thoughts, ideas, activities, or things they want to remember the next day can help get them off your teen’s mind so they can sleep. Yet, the information will be waiting for them to review the following day.
What can you do if these sleep strategies aren’t helping?
It may take two weeks or more for you and your teen to see results from consistently using these strategies.
But if you don’t see improvements after several weeks of consistently following the tips and strategies, you can:
Talk to your teen’s pediatrician or family doctor
Establishing healthy routines and sleep habits help, but it may not be enough if there’s an underlying medical condition contributing to the problems.
Some possible signs of health problems contributing to sleep issues include:
- Snoring or pauses in breathing when sleeping
- Excessive drowsiness or unexpectedly falling asleep during the day
- Changes in behavior and mood
- Teeth grinding
- Trouble falling asleep
- Restless sleep or difficulties staying asleep throughout the night
If your teen’s sleep issues persist, contact your child’s doctor to discuss the sleep issues and any physical or health issues you may have noticed.
Talk with a psychologist who understands sleep issues in teens
Your teen’s emotions, concerns, stress, and worries can cause sleep disruptions. For some teens, the problems, worries, and stress can be more than they know how to manage on their own.
Talking with a psychologist can help. Together, they can identify the problems, work through issues, and help your teen develop healthy tools and skills to effectively manage difficult emotions and situations, which can help them now and in the future.
