Does your teen have difficulty sleeping? My two teen boys do. Sleep is paramount to how we feel each day. How much we get determines how we handle school, work, our family interactions, and our friendships. As a mom to teens, it’s important to me to find ways for my boys for how to sleep better at night naturally without medicine. I want to teach them how to sleep faster and better every night. So, to help you, I’m sharing 5 Easy Natural Ways to Help Your Teen Sleep Better (plus bonus new updates).
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5 Easy Natural Ways to Help Your Teen Sleep Better + bonus updates
Difficulty sleeping while in the teenage years is a very common problem, as two out of three high school students in the United States don’t get enough sleep. They struggle to get the recommended eight hours of sleep on school nights due to their busy schedules.
Not getting enough sleep can cause problems for teenagers. I have two teen boys so I know first hand how not enough sleep can affect their lives. A lack of sleep can lead to decreased physical activity leading to being overweight, depressive symptoms, poor school performance, crankiness, moodiness, and engaging in unhealthy risky behaviors because they might be more likely to act on impulse.
Many teens are exhausted and might need some assistance from parents to help them achieve the recommended amounts of sleep. In this post, as a fellow parent of teens, I will help you brainstorm some ideas to help your tired teen.
Why Teens Can’t Sleep, Potential Causes
There are many reasons that can make it difficult for teens to sleep well. One cause is biological and due to the shift in their circadian rhythm when puberty hits. There isn’t much that can be done about that as it’s simply a natural stage of development. Blame it on those hormones!
Teens are often up late:
Teens tend to go to bed later than they did when they were younger. Going to bed late but needing to be up early is not a good combination but happens to many teens. Teens are often busy with schoolwork and other activities such as a job, family obligations, significant other, or volunteering.
An active social life means many teens are up late every night because not only are they studying and doing homework, but they are taking time for chatting with friends. They need to make time for all of it, but there are only so many hours in the day.
Their schedule is too packed:
Help them eliminate things from their schedule if they are too overloaded. They need assistance in critical thinking as they assess what to eliminate from a schedule that is too busy. Simply spend time talking with them to help them figure it out.
As parents, we can try and help them deal with their reality in the best ways possible. There are some natural things to try to help your teen get a better night’s sleep.
Natural Ways to Help Teens Sleep Better at Night Without Medication
5 Easy Natural Ways to Help your teen sleep better (PLUS extra ideas added in a recent update):
Here are some ideas to help your teen sleep better.
1. Make it clear that sleep should be a priority. Stress the importance of sleep for your child’s health. Help them understand that getting enough sleep should be their priority for their overall well-being and health. Tell them they will be better able to think, reason, and make decisions if they get enough sleep. Help them plan their schedule to fit in homework, family time, time for friends, and sleep too.
2. Try melatonin. My middle son has trouble sleeping quite frequently, so sometimes he uses melatonin. Speak with your doctor about this, but our doctor gave us instructions to use for a week or so to get on a schedule, then try to get to sleep without the melatonin so there isn’t a dependence on it.
3. Discourage sleeping in on weekends. This flip-flopping can wreak havoc on the ability to fall asleep on weekdays. Catching up on sleep and sleeping in on the weekends can mess up the body’s ability to go to bed early when Sunday night comes around. A consistent sleep schedule will work best overall.
4. Take a bath or shower. The relaxation a bath or shower provides can get your teen in the mood for sleep. Get some relaxing and calming soaps as well to help them feel sleepy at bedtime.
5. Give your teen a massage. If your teen will let you, give them a back and neck massage to help them feel relaxed prior to sleep. This will help relax them as they get ready for bed.
6. Keep bedtime routines the same. Repeating activities prior to bed can help set the brain for sleep. Reading is a perfect before bedtime activity plus it’s a good escape from the problems or stresses of the day. This will help your teen calm down and relax prior to bed. Perhaps using the same calming lotion or some light yoga might help as well. Repeating the activities if the teen wakes at night can help reset them for sleep.
7. Avoid staring at phone screens before bed. Our pediatrician really stresses the importance of avoiding blue light screen time before bed. He tells us the blue light messes with the brain’s natural ability to fall asleep. So, he advises my children to stop screen time and pick a different activity before bed such as reading or chatting with friends on the phone rather than texting or staring at their cell phones.
8. Pr0vide a healthy sleep environment. Make sure it is a quiet environment to promote sleep for your teenager. Ensure their mattress is comfortable, they are warm enough, and have comfy sleepwear that fits. Perhaps music or a sound machine could help create a good sleep-inducing environment for some teens. Providing a fan often helps promote sleep from the sound of the fan produces providing air circulation or cooling a hot room.
9. Detox with a lovely body or foot bath. I’ve fallen in love with essential oils. They are natural and healthy. Essential oils are a non-toxic way to provide skin nourishment and relaxation for your family. I’ve become an affiliate for Simply Earth. I participate in their monthly themed boxes complete with recipes. This last month they sent a box with a rose hydrosol bath recipe using rose hydrosol solution, which smells heavenly, and Epsom salt. It is a divine way to relax before bed.
If you would like to try out essential oils, this is the perfect way to start because they guide you and give you recipes each month. It’s really fun. Check it out here:
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More Sleep Tips:
Improve Sleep For Sleepovers and While Camping by Using Temporary Air Mattresses
Looking for an air mattress for camping? We own these air mattresses and we have used them both in sleepovers and for camping. My teen had a hard time sleeping when we went camping in the past so we bought him a raised air mattress which improved his sleep while camping. We already had a pump, so we went the cheaper route and got mattresses without built-in pumps. We have found our kids have had good success sleeping on these air mattresses for sleepovers and for help to sleep better while camping
Intex Twin 18″ Dura-Beam Standard Raised Pillow Rest Airbed Mattress, Fiber-Tech Construction, 3-in-1 Valve, Weight Capacity: 300 lbs, 39″ x 75″ x 18″
Intex Classic Downy Airbed, Twin
I hope you have found this post helpful for your teen and even for your other kids!
Copyright ©2018 Julie Hoag. All Rights Reserved. Post updated 2020 by Julie Hoag 5 Easy Natural Ways to Help Your Teen Sleep Better plus bonus updates.
Any advice for a 4-year-old? My kid has never been a sleeper, but I love all these ideas that can be adapted to him, myself, and my husband. Thanks!
Yes, true, I think these tips can apply to any age as well. I hope these tips help your son and your family:) Our biggest struggle is reducing time on iPhones right before bed as that is when my boys have time to visit and text with friends. Social life gets super important to them;)
I haven’t reached this stage, but I have wondered what sleep will be like once my kids are teens. I can keep these tips in mind as they get older. Thanks!
Yes, exactly! Both my older boys went through the not being sleepy until later which can be hard when they have to get up for school. It’s a struggle and they always want to communicate with friends and the time they often have to do it is right before bed, so reducing iPhone usage before bed is our hardest battle. Good luck!!
I could apply most of these to my sleep life at 29! It’s important to establish these habits early on, though. I certainly wish I had! Great tips.
Yes, I hear you. I struggle myself at accomplishing these all the time;) But, they do seem to help that’s for sure! Thanks!
Dicouraging sleeping in is so important, even for adults. I feel like my whole schedule is thrown off when I sleep in.
Yes, I agree, it does seem to do that and it does more harm that good often. Thanks!
Great suggestions and something to keep in mind for the future! I’m at the opposite end of the spectrum (young toddlers!) but sleep overall is so important for all age groups.
Yes, sleep is ultra important for all age groups:) Thank you!!