Whether your teen isn’t sleeping because of staying awake to worry or if the sleep deprivation is altering their self-image, the fact is that teens need eight to nine hours of sleep to be healthy, active and alert.
What can you do to make sure your teen gets a good night sleep? Set rules and keep them. If necessary, take the television and computer out of the teen’s room until balance is restored.
Make it a household rule to turn off the television, video games and other electronic stimuli at least thirty minutes before bedtime. Ask your teen to turn off the cell phone at bedtime. If that does not work, take the phone over night. Nothing is going to happen that can’t be left in a voice mail and heard the next morning.
Use two clocks without a snooze alarm. If your teen fails to get moving before the second alarm rings, then you do the wake up call. Waking up ten minutes before the bus is no way to start the day.
Teens need to have at least half hour to get up, shower and have a snack, power bar and juice to start the day. Be stubborn in requiring that your teen gets more sleep. If you do, you’ll see an improvement in your teen’s mood, attitude, grades and alertness
