{"id":55688,"date":"2021-01-23T00:00:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-23T08:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=55688"},"modified":"2021-01-22T11:41:53","modified_gmt":"2021-01-22T19:41:53","slug":"back-to-school-how-to-help-your-teen-get-enough-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/back-to-school-how-to-help-your-teen-get-enough-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to school: how to help your teen get enough sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nWhen the holidays end, barring a fresh outbreak of COVID-19, teenagers across Australia will head back to school. Some will bounce out of bed well before the alarm goes off, excited to start a new school year, but many others will drag themselves to the shower or reach for caffeine to shake themselves awake.<\/p>\n

Many will not have had enough sleep to tackle the trials and tribulations of their new school day.<\/p>\n

I remember back to my days as a high school science teacher, when some of my students started falling asleep in class. My immediate thoughts were: have I lost my touch? Am I that boring?<\/p>\n

Over-tiredness can\u00a0also lead to misbehaviour<\/a>. One of my usually good kids filled a disposable glove with water and hurled it around her head spraying water and ruining the work of other students. An investigation determined a string of very late nights perusing social media and texting friends. It was possible her over-tiredness led to an inability to regulate her behaviour.<\/p>\n

How phones close to bed affect sleep<\/strong><\/h4>\n

With\u00a0widespread school closures of 2020<\/a>, and a reduction of face-to-face contact in 2020, teenagers used mobile phones more frequently to engage with their peers and\u00a0online learning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Teenagers need friendship networks to help them\u00a0cope with stress and foster resilience<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Teens\u00a0use devices<\/a>\u00a0to keep up to date with their friends\u2019 activities on social media, or they may connect with a mate for an online gaming session, or phone a friend. Just like their\u00a0parents<\/a>, when teens aren\u2019t connecting with their friends they are likely to\u00a0use their smartphone<\/a>\u00a0like a mini-computer to stream videos and TV, listen to music, shop or catch up on news.<\/p>\n

Of concern is that many of these activities\u00a0occur into the night<\/a>\u00a0and in the confines of the teenager\u2019s bedroom. This may not be a worry in the holidays when teens can sleep in but getting enough good quality sleep can be challenging when they have to be somewhere first thing in the morning.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the constant use of technology can be at the expense of sleep with many teens\u00a0missing out regularly<\/a>\u00a0on the required 8-10 hours a night.<\/p>\n

Using a mobile phone into the night not only\u00a0displaces sleep<\/a>. Viewing screen-light also suppresses\u00a0melatonin<\/a>\u00a0(the natural hormone that regulates our sleep-wake cycle), and provides content that\u00a0may overstimulate<\/a>\u00a0the brain.<\/p>\n

For teenagers, the pathway from increased late-night screen use leading to disrupted sleep and then contributing to increased depressed mood, behaviour problems, low self-esteem and difficulty coping can\u00a0become well established<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Having enough sleep means teenagers brain cells will be alert during the school day. Sleep helps with the ability to think critically, and process and store new information, so teenagers become\u00a0satisfied with their achievements at school<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Enough sleep also helps ward off daytime sleepiness and provides more energy to participate in vigorous physical exercise \u2014 an activity\u00a0that helps ensure<\/a>\u00a0a good night\u2019s sleep in itself.<\/p>\n

Helping your teen get a good sleep<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The first thing you could do is locate or purchase an alarm clock (with no internet connection). You could then remove devices from the bedroom the night before school starts and set the alarm.<\/p>\n

But still, teenagers\u2019 routine of falling asleep late into the night during the holidays isn\u2019t magically going to revert to an early bedtime.<\/p>\n

On the first school night teens will probably lie awake (perhaps with heightened anxiety about their first day) and get frustrated. They will finally fall asleep, but be rudely awoken by the alarm. A grumpy start to the new year is to be avoided at all costs.<\/p>\n

The message to teenagers and their parents is:\u00a0understand the need for social connections<\/a>\u00a0but set curfews. Beyond setting such curfews on the phone itself, it\u2019s important to remove it from the bedroom 30 minutes to an hour before sleep as wind-down time. Teenagers must learn to manage their own schedules by going to bed at a time that ensures when the alarm goes off they will have achieved between 8 to 10 hours sleep.<\/p>\n

Here are some things that could make this easier:<\/p>\n