Kansas City,
14
September
2021
|
10:35 AM
America/Chicago

CNN: How to get your teens to sleep now that they are back in school

By Sandee LaMotte

School may look a bit different these days, but there's one constant parents will remember from pre-Covid days: the struggle to get your teen to sleep.

Rest easy, experts say. There are tried and true techniques that can put your child back on a regular sleep schedule, which will help improve their academic performance and mood.

What parents can do

With the added pressures of homework, extracurricular activities and the lure of social media, it can be tough to help a teen get better sleep. Experts suggest talking to your teen about the biological changes to their sleep cycle and discussing ways you can both work together to solve their sleep deficit.

Don't allow weekend sleep-ins. Try to wake your teen on weekends within one hour of his or her typical time to get up during the week for school. If they get up at 6 a.m. on weekdays, try to wake them by 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. at the latest on Saturday and Sunday.

According to Children's Mercy Kansas City, the "rule of thumb is every hour your teen sleeps in on the weekend it will take a day for the body to adjust."

Don't allow screens of any sort in the bedroom. All homework and social media or television should be done outside the bedroom, sleep experts stress. The brain needs to know that the bedroom is only for sleep, so that when you enter and begin your bedtime routine, the relaxation response is already underway.

 

Read the full article via CNN

Learn more about the Children's Mercy Sleep Center

Learn more about Children's Mercy's Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine