If your adolescent is tired all the time, you’re not imagining it, and you’re not alone. Between shifting body clocks, rising academic stress, and constant screen time, sleep is one of the first things to suffer. 

According to the Sleep Health Foundation, primary school-aged kids (6–12 years) need 9 – 12 hours of sleep and adolescents (13–18 years) need 8 – 10 hours of sleep within a 24 hour cycle. Interestingly naps do count, but are best kept under 90 minutes so they don’t disrupt evening rest. 

While these recommendations are ideals, 70% of kids aren’t getting adequate sleep.  Adolescents high pressure and demanding pace of life does come at a cost. Parties, sleepovers, all night gaming sessions, friendship dramas and exam cramming, all impact sleep. In addition to this, sleep problems are most common during developmental transitions, where biological, cognitive, or emotional changes disrupt established routines. Paediatricians often highlight infancy, toddlerhood, and adolescence as the most challenging times in kid’s lives.

What does this look like in day to day life?

Picture these two scenarios. An adolescent who has had a solid night’s sleep, walks into the classroom calm, focused, ready to learn. They feel more able to cope with a tricky maths problem or a playground misunderstanding. Now flip it. Same child, lacking sleep might be teary, irritable, unable to focus or overwhelmed by problem solving. 

Leading sleep clinics and researchers, like Stanford Sleep Medicine Centre and the National Sleep Foundation are uncovering just how vital sleep is for healthy adolescent development. The biggest finding in the last decade is that brains are enhanced when we sleep. Our brain’s clean-up crew (called the glymphatic system) clears out toxins and resets our ability to think clearly, regulate emotions, and learn. That means that sleep is not just about rest, or feeling less sleepy, but it’s essential maintenance for our mind and mental health.

10 Evidence Based Sleep Strategies

What’s tricky about sleep is that you can’t make an adolescent sleep. There is no “off switch” we can magically flip. What we can do is support them with these evidence-based sleep tips, drawn from leading sleep clinics and research institutes worldwide.

Tip 1: Understand the Adolescent Body Clock

During adolescence, our kid’s sleep cycle goes through a biological shift known as a “sleep phase delay.” Their brain begins producing melatonin (the sleep hormone) about 1–2 hours later than in childhood. This means they naturally feel sleepy later, often around 10pm or even midnight. Despite feeling sleepier later, they are still expected to wake early and perform consistently. When sleep debts build up so do emotional, academic, and physical consequences. There is a solid argument for delaying school start times, and at the very least not over-scheduling adolescents so they have room for fluctuations in energy.

Tip 2: Reset With a Sleep Schedule

When they are out of routine, they will accumulate a sleep debt which can result in chronic sleep deprivation and burnout if kids don’t catch up. Some weekends and holidays need to be dedicated to catching up on sleep for our kid’s health’s sake. However, that late sleep-ins can quickly lead to problems sleeping at night. The quickest way to reset a body clock is consistent bedtime and wake-up times. This consistency helps regulate their circadian rhythm. Some people are very sensitive to timing and do need to try to go to bed at the same time each night or they feel the consequences of that rhythm being kicked out of place.

Tip 3: Get Bright Light in the Morning

Exposure to natural morning light also helps reset the body’s internal clock (circadian rhythm). The timing of their first dose of daylight not only tells the brain it’s time to be awake, it also starts the countdown toward feeling sleepy later that night. Try opening the blinds as soon as they wake up, have breakfast near a window, or encourage a 5–10 minute walk outside before school. Even cloudy skies provide enough natural light to do the job. For adolescents who struggle to wake up in the morning, this can make a noticeable difference over time.

Tip 4: Move Your Body Daily

Not all kids like to move vigorously, especially when they feel tired or overloaded. However, physical activity helps adolescents fall asleep faster and get deeper, more restorative sleep. It also reduces stress hormones like cortisol, which can interfere with sleep. Keep in mind, exercise doesn’t have to be intense—walking, dancing, riding a bike, or playing outside all count. Late night exercise can overstimulate some kids, so it is worth watching how much ‘wind down’ time your teen needs.

Tip 5: Use Soft Light at Night  

If possible, switch to soft warm, lamplight in the evening instead of bright overhead lighting. Soft, warm light (ideally purple, blue or red light) helps signal to the brain that the day is winding down. If they can additionally catch the sunset or step outside as the light naturally fades, even better. The smart lights you can now buy for lampshades are an excellent (and fun) addition to homes, and come with automatic timers! 

While we are talking about light, let’s delve into tech. The blue light from phones, tablets, and computers trick the brain into thinking it’s still daytime. They suppress melatonin, the hormone that helps us feel sleepy.  Sleep clinics recommend turning off screens at least 60 minutes before bed. Using night-mode or blue light filters in the evening can help. Even better, encourage screen-free time as it gives their mind a real chance to slow down.

Once in bed, dark rooms are ideal. Blackout curtains and face mask can get rid of any unnecessary light and help calm the senses. 

Tip 6: Prioritise Wind-Down Time

Teens need time to psychologically transition from “on” to “off”. A regular nighttime routine helps their brain know when it’s time to sleep.

I encourage teens to divide the process into three steps:

1. Electronic devices used for academic or socialising off. This signals goodnight to friends.
2. Time with family can look like talking, a card game, reading a book or sharing a before bed snack. This signals goodnight to family. 
3. Time alone with non-stimulating activities. Lights out.

During step three reduce stimulating activities and incorporate things like personal reading, journaling, listening to music or podcasts.  Listening to repetitive sounds including white noise or using apps like “Calm” can also provide helpful meditations, sleep sounds or stories. If adolescents are sensitive to noise or share a bedroom with a sibling, earplugs might be helpful. 

PS. Falling asleep means our kids have to let go of the world around them, including us. Having some type of nightly ritual which reinforces our love, can help reassure them we will be there when they awake. This ritual might be a nightly tuck, or a few soft words like “I love you because…. ”  As a mum, the last thing I want my kids to hear each night is that I love them. 

Tip 7: Napping is Great, but Watch Out for Long Naps

Short naps (under 30 minutes) can be refreshing, but naps over 90 minutes can interfere with nighttime sleep, especially if they’re already struggling to fall asleep at night.

Tip 8: Cool Rooms are Ideal

The body needs to drop in temperature to be able to fall asleep. That being so, sleep experts recommend an ideal room temperature of 17–19°C, and cotton or bamboo linen that breathe. Hot showers or baths are best two hours before bed.

Tip 9: Don’t Stay in Bed Awake

Now for the slightly controversial one. If a teen can’t fall asleep after 20–30 minutes, sleep clinics recommend getting out of bed and doing a quiet activity in dim light until they feel sleepy again. This prevents the brain from associating the bed with wakefulness, anxiety or frustration. 

I personally haven’t always found this a helpful strategy for teens, who might be best using mindfulness and gratitude techniques to rest, even if they can’t sleep. A meditative state still gives your body benefits. The idea is to avoid worrying about not falling asleep. That only increases anxiety and prolongs the process. Steve Biddulph’s latest book, Wild Creature Mind, includes easy to use, anxiety busting strategies for all ages.

Tip 10: Extra Sleep Tools

Here are some extra tips that might be helpful: 

• Eating carbohydrates can slow adolescents metabolism down and help promote rest. Grandmas’ idea of warm milk and cookies isn’t such bad advice.
• Weighted blankets can help calm the body prior to sleep.
• Melatonin, valerian, magnesium, chamomile and lavender can be powerful for some kids. 
  
  

Closing Thoughts  

I want to close with three few helpful thoughts that might be comforting for adolescents who are currently struggling to sleep well.

1. Adolescents need to know that their brains are remarkably resilient. Everyone of us has tossed and turned, driven ourselves close to panic because we thought one bad night’s sleep was going to ruin everything. While a good night’s sleep is important, what happens consistently matters most.
   
   
2. Tuning into what your body needs is one of the smartest habits we can nurture in kids. Being able to daily check in with question like these are great for self-awareness – How does it feel when you’ve had enough sleep? Can you tell when a lack of sleep affects your day? What helps you feel rested?
   
   
3. The general consensus in sleep research supports the idea that even modest increases in sleep can have positive effects on cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and academic performance. Remember that small steps make a lot of difference, and the aim is to get a little more rest every day.