Sleep is crucial to feel your best, perform at your best, be healthy, and grow. Not getting enough sleep can cause you to feel tired, have trouble focusing, negatively affect your mood, and even set you up for health problems. The adolescent years can be a challenging time in life where you are balancing many different things, including changes in your body, schoolwork, social life, activities, and figuring out future plans. With all this going on, it is important to make sure you still are getting enough sleep — to feel your best and to be healthy. Research studies have shown that getting a good night’s rest can help you perform better at school, sports, and activities, as well as improve your physical and mental health and well-being.
So how much sleep do I need?
Sleep may have been easy as a child, but many young people find that they now have to be more mindful about their sleep habits to get a good night’s rest. So what is considered a good night’s rest?
Early teens: 9-10 hours of sleep a night
Older Teens: 8-10 hours of sleep a night
Adults: 7-9 hours of sleep a night
The preteen and teen years are an important time to set yourself up to have good sleep habits to last the rest of your life. Investing some thought into your sleep now can really benefit your current goals as well as your long-term success!
How to develop a healthy sleep routine
Developing a healthy sleep routine is important to start working on as a preteen or teen. Sleep habits you develop now can set you up to have better sleep the rest of your life. Having set behaviors you do each night can help your body and mind know it is time to sleep. Brushing your teeth, washing your face, and showering in a set pattern can help you get ready for bed. Your mind also needs time to unwind and get sleepy (almost bored) before you can go to bed. Putting away overly stimulating things such as phones, computers, video games, and school work an hour or two before bed can help you get to sleep easier. Engaging in relaxing activities such as light reading, mindfulness, meditation, or even just stretching can get the body and mind in a calm state to help you fall asleep.
3 Natural ways to promote sleep
#1 – Keep Bed & Wake Time the Same Every Day
In addition to developing a good wind-down routine, keeping your bed and wake time the same every day, including the weekends, can help keep your biological clock in sync. And this helps your body and mind know what time you should be resting.
#2 – Don’t Use Your Bed as a Place to Hang Out
Another great way to promote sleep is keeping your bed as a space only designated for sleep. Many people will “hang out” in their bed. Whether spending time on devices, talking with friends, watching TV, or doing schoolwork, any time you spend in bed that is not related to sleep confuses our subconscious as to what we are supposed to be doing in that space. Avoiding activities in bed that are not sleep related can help our bodies and minds know to feel tired and sleepy when in bed.
#3 – Get Exercise During the Day and Limit Fluids Before Bed
Also, making sure we get enough exercise during the day, limiting fluids 2 hours prior to bedtime, and making that last bathroom run before jumping into bed can help us get a good night’s rest.
Our devices are a source of learning, connecting with friends and family, and entertainment. They are also, overall, terrible for our sleep. They have a lot of stimulating content, which keeps us engaged, but also keeps our mind very active. At times, this makes it hard to shut down our brain for sleep. Putting the phone or other devices away an hour or so before bed can be very helpful for sleep.
#2 – Lower Caffeine Intake
Caffeine can be found in coffee, tea, sodas, energy drinks, and even chocolate. Some people enjoy caffeine to help stay awake, but this can also cause problems with sleep. Caffeine not only keeps us up and makes sleep lighter, it can also cause people to be fidgety when trying to sleep. This can worsen conditions such as restless leg syndrome, a condition where the limbs feel the need to move around in the evening, which can prevent falling asleep or cause nighttime awakenings. Caffeine tends to stay in our bodies for a lot longer than we realize, with it taking about 5-7 hours for half of the caffeine we drink to get out of our system. Generally, this means that for good sleep caffeine should be stopped by the early afternoon at the latest.
#3 – Decrease Stress
It is hard to avoid stress altogether, but it is important to be mindful as to how it can affect sleep. Many changes are going on during the preteen and teen years. It can be a very exciting time, but also a stressful period at times as well. While stress may be a part of life, it is important to try to minimize stress before bed to help get better rest. This can be easier said than done, but things such as having a good wind-down routine or potentially using mindfulness or meditation can help alleviate stress before sleep. Writing in a diary or making lists of what is on our minds can get stressful things out of our heads prior to sleep. Seeking a counselor or psychologist can also be helpful if you are dealing with a lot of stress or anxiety.
#4 – Get Exercise
Exercise is excellent and very important for wellness. Getting exercise during the day is not only healthy, but also has been shown to positively impact sleep and reduce stress. You do not want to exercise right before bed, however, as it will tend to make the body and mind more alert. Try to exercise daily for a good night’s rest, but try to finish at least 2 hours before bed.
#5 – Limit Your Light
Much of our drive to sleep has to do with light. As it gets dark, our bodies and minds are designed to feel sleepy. These days, however, we have lots of bright lights in our homes as well as coming from our phones and devices, which can throw off our natural drive to sleep. Many devices emit something we refer to as “blue light,” which closely mimics sunlight and can cause our minds to feel confused as to if we should be awake or asleep. Sometimes these devices have blue light filters, which can help, but it is best to try to limit device use and turn off brighter lights in our surrounding environment in the hour leading up to bed.
#6 – Create a Routine
Establish a routine of getting ready for bed at about the same time. Take a shower or bath, and do an activity like meditation, reading a book, journaling about any worries, coloring, snuggling a pet, or talking to a family member or friend, that calms you. Limit daytime naps to 30 minutes so that you are tired enough for restorative nighttime sleep.
Sleep disorders are medical conditions that prevent people from sleeping well, and can actually be harmful to your health. They can develop at any age, but the preteen and teen years are a time when many symptoms of sleep disorders may first begin.
#1 – Insomnia
Insomnia is when you have trouble falling or staying asleep or waking up too early, creating a negative impact on how you feel during the day. Often it is caused by stress/anxiety or other sleep disorders initially, but over time, worry and stress about sleep itself, or picking up habits in response to the sleep disruption that further worsens sleep (such as long naps in the day or drinking caffeine) can occur, perpetuating the cycle. Most people have occasional nights of insomnia at some point in their life, but if symptoms are going on for an extended period of time, seeking help is likely warranted.
It is important to make sure that if you are stressed or having trouble sleeping to find medical or psychological care to address any underlying issues. Trying to be mindful of good sleep habits but not overly stressing out about sleep itself can also be helpful in avoiding the risk of insomnia. The primary treatment for insomnia is something called cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-i, which works at addressing the behavioral and mental factors causing insomnia.
#2 – Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a common condition in many age groups, and involves the muscles of the airway relaxing too much during sleep, preventing proper breathing and causing sleep to be disrupted. Snoring and mouth breathing during sleep are commonly associated with sleep apnea. If you are snoring loudly, waking up at night gasping for air, or are feeling tired during the day despite enough rest, it is a good idea to see a sleep medicine specialist to have an evaluation for obstructive sleep apnea.
#3 – Restless Leg Syndrome
Restless leg syndrome is a condition where the limbs, typically (but not always) the legs, feel the urge to move at night making it hard to fall or stay asleep. Things such as caffeine, alcohol, and certain medications can cause symptoms of restless leg syndrome, as can low iron levels. There is also a genetic component often seen with restless leg syndrome. Cutting out caffeine or alcohol and having your iron levels checked (particularly a form of iron storage called the ferritin) is a good start to addressing restless legs. There are also medicines available which may help if needed.
#4 – Circadian Rhythm Disorders
Circadian rhythm disorders are conditions where our internal clocks are shifted in a way that is different from the external world. A certain kind of circadian rhythm disorder called delayed sleep/wake phase disorder is very common in teens. Simply put, this is the tendency to be more of a “night owl.” Teens have the tendency for their internal clocks to shift later, causing them to want to stay up later and sleep in later in the morning. At times this can be confused with insomnia, because the body is not ready to fall asleep. This can also cause teens to be viewed as sleepy or lazy when they aren’t ready to wake up early in the morning. While this shift can be normal in teens, keeping a set sleep and wake time on the weekends, getting morning sunlight, and avoiding too much light in the evening can help align the internal clock to make it easier to go to bed and wake up in time for school or work.
#5 – Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is the dysregulation between wake and a specific stage of sleep known as REM sleep. It can develop during teenage years, with symptoms of falling asleep very easily throughout the day and waking up at night. There is also a condition called idiopathic hypersomnia which can begin as a teenager, where there is excessive sleepiness despite getting many hours of sleep. Both of these conditions should be evaluated by a sleep specialist if there is a concern for these disorders.
Substance Use & Sleep
Many substances worsen sleep. Alcohol, nicotine (found in cigarettes or vape pens), and marijuana are sometimes thought to help with sleep, but in addition to the other health and safety issues associated with these substances, they actually make sleep much worse. Alcohol might make people sleepy initially, but there usually is a rebound effect where it wakes us up in the middle of the night and makes it hard to go back to sleep. Alcohol also suppresses an important stage of sleep called REM sleep, which is crucial to feel well rested. Alcohol changes our breathing pattern as well during sleep, and can cause a condition known as sleep apnea, where the airway muscles collapse during sleep, making it so we don’t get enough oxygen. Nicotine can greatly worsen sleep in addition to the many other health risks associated with smoking. Studies on marijuana generally suggest that chronic usage can worsen and disrupt sleep. Many other drugs tend to make sleep worse as well.
5 FAQs About Sleep
1. Do my mood and emotions affect my sleep?
Mood and sleep go hand in hand. If you have anxiety, depression, or even just a lot of stress, this can worsen sleep. However, not sleeping well can worsen anxiety, depression, or overall stress levels. Try the sleep tips above to see if they can help. It is important to try to make sure you are getting enough sleep for your mental health and mood and seek out a psychologist or doctor if you are struggling with anxiety, depression, or too much stress.
2. Can lack of sleep affect my performance in school or sports?
Lack of sleep can impact performance and other goals, including negatively affecting schoolwork and sports. Getting enough rest has been shown to improve the ability to learn and perform on cognitive tasks, such as test taking, but also has demonstrated improved performance on things like athletics. There has even been evidence to show an increased chance of sports injuries if you are not getting enough rest.
3. How is ADHD associated with sleep?
ADHD and trouble focusing (in kids, teens, and adults) has been associated with poor sleep, in particular, obstructive sleep apnea.
4. Is getting to bed late and waking up late normal?
Teenagers often have a normal shift in their internal clocks (or circadian rhythms) to a later bedtime and wake time. Sometimes this can cause arguments between teens and caregivers with the morning sleepiness being perceived as laziness, but this shift has been documented to be a normal phenomenon. Having good sleep habits, getting some morning sunlight, and avoiding too much light at night can help reduce the impact of this shift.
5. What is the worst thing for sleep?
Phones and devices such as computers, tablets, or TV are an integral part of many of our lives, however, they can be one of the worst things for sleep. Avoiding phone and device use in bed and in the hour leading up to bedtime can be one of the easiest ways to get better sleep.
