teen sleep problems
Advice in Overcoming Teen Sleep Problems
Remy JirekTeen sleep problems are common and often attributed to their poor sleeping habits. As they get older, they stay up later during the week and on weekends. Their altered sleep schedule combined with their emerging hormones can result in their not getting enough sleep. This can cause reduced attention in school and/or behavioral problems. To combat this, teens should be encouraged to stick to the same sleep schedule during the week and including the weekends. By getting the right amount of sleep they can put their sleeping disorders to rest
Teen sleep problems, according to most medical professionals and sleep experts, are related to teens having altered the time at which they go to sleep. Going to bed later than usual influences the teen's biochemical makeup and can provoke a period of adjustment in which teen sleep problems may become apparent. The result of staying up late on weekends and sleeping in when possible is coupled with a changing body due to puberty. All of this becomes a key focus in determining the cause of teen sleep problems and becomes an area of concern as well.
Teens will generally, after a weekend on an altered sleep schedule, find difficulty falling asleep at the normal time again when school starts during the regular week. This creates teen sleep problems based on the notion that it is unwise to juggle or disturb the normal bedtime schedule when it comes to sleep times. It is important to get enough sleep during the school week, however, as a lack of sleep can result in behavioral or attention-related problems that could create an entirely new level of problems.
Learning the Ideal
As teen bodies change, there is an ideal amount of sleep that should be gathered per night to help the body recharge from the building process. The average length of time for sleeping should be around eight or nine hours with younger teens at ages around 13 or 14 needing a slightly greater amount at around nine or ten hours of sleep. This is, again, all related to the amount of bodily change that is occurring during this growth period. The body needs time to recuperate from utilizing its maximum amount of resources.
Routines should be encouraged, even on weekends and on vacations, to enable your teen to awaken at around the same time each day. This will encourage a healthier sleep schedule that will develop over time and will, in fact, create a smoother transition into adulthood. Preventing teen sleep problems is often just a matter of making minor lifestyle adjustments such as changing or beginning a routine. Another idea is to encourage the teen to begin their own sleep schedule and give them responsibility for waking times.
Preventing the use of excessive stimulants such as caffeine can also help counter some teen sleep problems. Try and encourage your teen to make healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and include sleep routines as a whole family activity so as to model the best behavior.
Teens will generally, after a weekend on an altered sleep schedule, find difficulty falling asleep at the normal time again when school starts during the regular week. This creates teen sleep problems based on the notion that it is unwise to juggle or disturb the normal bedtime schedule when it comes to sleep times. It is important to get enough sleep during the school week, however, as a lack of sleep can result in behavioral or attention-related problems that could create an entirely new level of problems.
Learning the Ideal
As teen bodies change, there is an ideal amount of sleep that should be gathered per night to help the body recharge from the building process. The average length of time for sleeping should be around eight or nine hours with younger teens at ages around 13 or 14 needing a slightly greater amount at around nine or ten hours of sleep. This is, again, all related to the amount of bodily change that is occurring during this growth period. The body needs time to recuperate from utilizing its maximum amount of resources.
Routines should be encouraged, even on weekends and on vacations, to enable your teen to awaken at around the same time each day. This will encourage a healthier sleep schedule that will develop over time and will, in fact, create a smoother transition into adulthood. Preventing teen sleep problems is often just a matter of making minor lifestyle adjustments such as changing or beginning a routine. Another idea is to encourage the teen to begin their own sleep schedule and give them responsibility for waking times.
Preventing the use of excessive stimulants such as caffeine can also help counter some teen sleep problems. Try and encourage your teen to make healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and include sleep routines as a whole family activity so as to model the best behavior.