For teens, sleep hygiene should include more than just brushing before bedtime. Too many teens practice bad habits that keep them from getting the eight to 10 hours of sleep recommended by the National Sleep Foundation.
A recent study from Columbia University found that teens are getting less sleep than they did two decades ago, with just 63 percent of 15-year-olds logging at least seven hours of sleep a night, compared with 72 percent of those surveyed in 1991.
Smartphones, school start times, and sports practice are just a few factors contributing to this trend, says Dena Robertson, nursing supervisor for the Sleep Medicine and Research Center at St. Luke’s Hospital.
Good sleep habits include no caffeine after 4 p.m., no naps, and avoiding exercise within three hours of bedtime. It also means no sleeping till noon on weekends, says Robertson: “We tell them that their bedtime and wake time should not vary by more than one hour,” she says.
At least an hour before bed, teens should also wrap up homework, shut off smartphones, and avoid anything that’s going to stimulate them too much. “They need to have a one-hour wind-down time,” says Robertson, who suggests avoiding reading or listening to music in the bedroom. And if adolescents toss and turn for more than 20 minutes, they should get out of bed and do something relaxing.
“We’re trying to teach the brain that the bedroom is for sleeping,” she says. “You want to have the wind-down time outside the bedroom, and then, once you get into bed, it’s lights out.”
