Effective sleep tips for teens
An average teen needs to sleep for 8 to 10 hours a day, but some would complain that they find it hard to complete their number of hours, thus feeling fatigued and weak. Let us discover why teens are problematic about catching sleep and give them some effective sleep tips for teens. You can also read this page sleepclinicmelbourne.com.au/sleep-clinic-yarraville/ for sleep tips.
Why do teens get sleep deprived?
If you are a teen or a parent of a teen that lacks sleep, here are some reasons you may want to look into.
Hormones. Some hormones in the body during teenage years mess up with our body clock and make us stay up for a few more hours past bedtime. This results in staying up late for a few hours and waking up the next day feeling tired and irritable.
Gadgets. Screen time stimulates the brain to perform more instead of allowing the body to distinguish that it is already time to shut an eye. This makes teens get less sleep every day while gaining more time to use their phones, watch the TV, or use their laptops or PCs.
School requirements. Yes, this definitely sounds like an unreasonable excuse, but if a teen needs to finish a lot of school work at home, she might complain that she may not have enough time to sleep.
Light. Remember when establishing a sleeping pattern to babies and saying that you have to keep the room dark so the baby would be conditioned that it is time to sleep? Well, this has the same principle. If teens get light exposure before going to bed, it stimulates the brain to think that they still need to be awake, making it difficult for them to catch sleep.
Habits. If you have been following a dreadful sleeping pattern of sleeping late and waking up early for school, it becomes a bad habit to break.
Medical conditions. If a teen suffers from a restless leg syndrome or a type of breathing disorder called sleep apnea, he would really complain of a sleep disturbance, making it difficult for him to fall back to sleep.
All these reasons can cause unwanted sleep deprivation and can cause mental, emotional, and physical problems to teens. Parents should look into ways on how to help their kids avoid getting less sleep.
Sleep tips for teens
The most effective sleep tips for teens would only be successful once you identified its cause. Knowing what you need to change, you allow your teen to experience more time to sleep and less time to complain and make a fuss about feeling tired, grumpy, and depressed for losing sleep.
Let them sleep in on Friday and Saturday but assert an early night on Sunday. Sleeping in on the weekends would let them catch some of the lost hours during school days, allowing them to get their energy back. Meanwhile, establishing a different sleeping pattern before the start of the school week will change their routine and sleep-wake pattern, helping their body to readjust to the feeling of being drowsy at the right time.
Exercise. Regular exercise promotes a healthy body and energizes the brain, correcting any hormonal problems. Spend at least 30 minutes making your body fit, but do not overdo it as it may make your body fatigued and aching before bedtime.
Limit screen time. This is an important habit to change, especially for teens who stay up late with their phones and gadgets, now that social media is a hit. Give them a deadline on until what time they can use their phones and laptops, then instruct them to leave their phones a bit far away from their beds.
Monitor their school work. If there are deadlines to meet, help them manage their time so that their schoolwork will not pile up and let them suffer a sleepless night just to finish all of them. Teach them proper time management so they can finish their homework and school projects one at a time.
Make their rooms conducive to sleep. Impose a ‘lights out’ policy, so they’ll make it a habit to end their day at a scheduled hour. This will also condition their brains to shut down at a specific time, promoting healthy and uninterrupted sleep.
Consult a sleep doctor. The earlier sleep tips for teens may be the answer to a habit or a process that may be manipulated by parents. But if the problem is a medical condition, only a doctor can find a way to help them. Visit a sleep doctor or specialist if your child complains of symptoms similar to RLS or sleep apnea.
