Sleep tips for teens

When our babies are just that, babies, we spend hours obsessing over their sleep. Too much {ha!} or too little… bedtime, nap routines, what time they wake up. Then they get a bit bigger and these things don’t seem as important – they sleep all night, drop the naps and we don’t worry so much about how much sleep they’re getting. By the time they are teenagers we tend to leave them to get on with it – yet teens still need a good nights sleep as they’re going through some huge physical and mental changes. All too often they’re up too late {hello smart phones always on} and if they have to get up early for school they are unlikely to be getting their 8 hours a night.

With our eldest about to hit her teens this year {though it’s felt like she’s been a teenager for the past couple years already} I’ve been talking to her about the importance of sleep. I don’t think we fully appreciate just how good a full nights sleep is until we suddenly don’t get them. I can notice a huge difference in her mood if she’s had one too many late nights – thankfully she gets to lay in as she doesn’t’ have to get up early for school!

I’ve found a couple of things that have helped her ‘switch off’ and get more sleep…

* No screens in the room

I know we’re probably in the minority with this – but none of us have TV’s in our bedrooms – not Mama and Papa and certainly not the kiddos. I don’t mind a little TV but don’t think they are appropriate in little ones bedrooms. Now, my big girls have laptops/tablets off their own, so from time to time will watch something on them in their rooms in the day time. But we opperate a fairly strict ‘no screens at bedtime’ policy… The temptation to stay up late and surf the net, chat with friends or watch something is too great if they are in the room. So come bedtime, all screens have to be checked in downstairs.

* A comfortable bed

A basic but sometimes gets overlooked – if your teen has had the same mattress since they were a child it may be time to get a new one. We realised after we moved house, that Lola was still sleeping on the mattress from the first bed she had! Leesa got in touch just before Christmas to see if we would like to try out one of their mattresses in perfect timing. Leesa are a pretty new brand to the UK and they promise to reinvent your sleep! We ordered one of their single memory foam mattresses for Lola’s bed. It arrived in a very un-mattress shaped box which the girls thought was funny! We unrolled the mattress and left it for the morning then all came back to test how comfy it was! Lola has slept so much better since it came, and says it’s the comfiest mattress she’s tried! I’m a little jealous at just how comfy her bed is {and how long she gets to spend in it!}. Leesa are so confident you’ll love the mattress they offer a ‘try it for 100 nights’ guarantee – if you don’t love it you get your money back! They also donate one mattress to a homeless shelter for every ten they sell, which I think is fantastic. {If you want to try the mattress for yourself, you can get £50 off through this link}

* Keep a bedtime routine

The days when you can keep them to a strict bedtime routine may be over, but encouraging your teenager to set their own can help them fall asleep more easily. Doing the same things in the same order each night really helps… perhaps supper, a bath and reading for a while before lights out

* Bedroom environment

Cool, dark and calm is best – so no screens or heavy rock music before bed!!

While we’re not super strict on the actual bedtime, we do stick to the no screens rule and encourage bedtime reading which helps her unwind. Sleep makes such a huge difference to how we feel and how productive we are. Do you worry about your teens or tweens getting enough sleep?