Teens don’t get enough sleep. Many people chalk this up to lifestyle choices. They imagine teens are perennial night owls, enjoying all-nighter after all-nighter. They also imagine that teens are a near-bottomless well of energy–and so well suited for a more sleepless lifestyle.

But the reality is that teens’ late night sleep habits are a function of biology. This can be a problem–because growing teenagers need significantly more sleep than they used to as children (or will as adults). As a parent, then it’s important to know how much sleep your teenager should be getting. That will help you work together to craft (and reinforce) better sleep habits. Because when your teen sleeps better, they’ll be more focused, less moody, and healthier.

How Much Sleep Should My Teen be Getting?

In general, teenagers should be getting between 9.5 - 10 hours of sleep every night. If that seems like a lot, well, it’s true. Teens need more sleep than they did when they did throughout most of their childhood. The reason for this is that teens are going through a significant maturation and growth process. The teenage brain is developing rapidly–and so, too, is the teenage body. As a result, they need a lot of sleep (and a lot of food–but that’s another blog.)

Your teen’s circadian rhythms will also be changing around this time. It’s why they tend to go to bed later and later each night. This is a natural process! Unfortunately, many teen activities (and school) are structured in such a way as to favor early morning start times. These early start times can interfere with your teen’s normal sleep patterns. As a result, it’s important to develop specific strategies to help your teen get the sleep they need.

What Happens When My Teen Doesn’t Get Enough Sleep?

So what happens when your teenager isn’t getting enough sleep? There are short term and long term consequences to this. In the short term, lack of sleep can:

• Have a negative impact on your teen’s ability to focus and learn.

• Make it harder for your teen to regulate their mood. This may make them irritable.

• Compromise your teen’s immune system, making them more likely to get sick.

In the long term, chronic sleep deprivation can:

• Increase your teen’s risk of experiencing depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues.

• Increase your teen’s risk of developing physical health issues, such as diabetes, injury, and obesity.

• Have negative impacts on your teen’s academic progress and achievements.

• Have negative impacts on your teen’s social life and social support system.

Many of these negative impacts can be minimized and mitigated by ensuring your teen gets the sleep they need on a consistent basis.

How to Make Your Environment More Sleep-Friendly

Of course, you can’t make your teen get the sleep they need. But there are some steps you can take to create a sleep-friendly environment, making it easier for your teen to have a healthier sleep experience.

• Refrain from shaming your teen over sleeping in: Some parents buy into the stereotype of the “lazy” teenager. But it’s important to let your teen sleep in when and where they can. (They aren’t being lazy, they’re growing.)

• Try to eat breakfast where the sun is shining: This may sound relatively trivial, but it’s important to start the day where there’s plenty of sunlight. So eating breakfast next to a big window–or even outside, where possible–can help your teen set their circadian rhythm in a way that better matches their schedule.

• Keep screens out of the bedroom: Most teens aren’t going to go for a full no-tech bedroom. But set time limits on some tech–especially before bed. Work with your teen to come up with tech rules that they can live with and that will encourage them to sleep better. (No screens 30 minutes before bed is a good one.)

• Help your teen set a schedule: Help your teen develop a sleep schedule that they can stick to (at least, most of the time). Make sure your teen takes the lead on this.

• Encourage short naps: There’s a tendency to see a nap as a weakness–as your teen missing out on life. But napping can help your teen catch up on much needed sleep, so it can be quite important for teens. (That said, keep naps to 30 minutes or less so they don’t impact your teen’s ability to fall asleep at night).

Establishing bedtime routines can be exceptionally important. One of the best ways to do that is to model the kind of behavior that’s good for your teen. If napping is important, for example, take the occasional nap! Likewise, if screens outside of the bedroom are important, remove screens from your own bedroom at a similar time.

Talk to your teen about a routine that works best for them. And then do what you can to help your teen stick to that. You can also check in with your teen’s pediatrician to make sure there are no underlying causes that might interfere with your teen’s ability to fall asleep.

Sleep is incredibly important to your teen’s health. Making sure they get enough to can help make your teen healthier–and happier! Talk to your teen’s pediatrician about their health today–contact our Northbrook or Chicago offices to make an appointment!