According to research, more than 90% of teens don’t sleep the recommended 9 hours a night. Ten percent sleep less than 6 hours a night.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Hey doc, why do teenagers sleep so late?
Good question. When our kids are little, we do everything possible to get them to sleep past the crack of dawn. But once they’re teens, we can’t seem to get them out of bed.
Teens aren’t being defiant–or lazy–when they stay up late and then sleep all day. Their new hours are due to a change in their body clock.
In young children, that clock makes eyelids droop around 8 or 9 at night, and open bright and early the next morning. At puberty, the clock shifts, turning teens into night owls who’d prefer to stay up past midnight and then sleep until lunchtime.
Problems arise when your teen has to be at school or work the next morning, after she was up late the night before. Kids who consistently get less than the recommended 9 hours of sleep a night can have trouble concentrating in school. They’re also at increased risk for behavior problems and drowsy driving.
What’s more, research shows that sleep-deprived kids are more likely to put on weight and become obese.
To avoid these problems, try to get your teen to go to bed at about the same time each night and wake up around the same time each morning–even on weekends. Granted, that may be a hard sell, but if you enforce the rule and it helps your teen feel less tired, they’ll be more likely to comply.
To help them fall asleep, skip the soda with dinner. About 30 minutes before bedtime, have your teen switch to a relaxing activity, like reading.
Lower the blinds to darken the room, and set the thermostat at a cool temperature.
Have kids place laptops and cell phones outside their rooms so they won’t be tempted to stay on the devices all night.
By making sure your child gets enough sleep, you may also find they’re in a better mood – a benefit that any parent of a teenager surely can appreciate.