Make sure your teen knows that you expect them to be in bed by 9:30 p.m. with the lights out by 10:00, or whatever times allow for the right amount of sleep.
Most teens need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night. Getting the right amount of sleep is important for anyone who wants to do well on a test or play their best in sports.
Sleep research suggests that a teenager needs between eight and 10 hours of sleep every night. This is more than the amount a child or an adult needs. Yet most adolescents only get about 6.5 – 7.5 hours sleep per night, and some get less. Regularly not getting enough sleep leads to chronic sleep deprivation.
“There is no such thing as a “fixed or ideal time” to go to bed which will suit all individuals. It is generally advisable to fall asleep between 10 pm to midnight as for most people this is when the circadian rhythm is at a point that favours falling asleep.”
The average amount of sleep that teenagers get is between 7 and 7 ¼ hours. However, they need between 9 and 9 ½ hours (studies show that most teenagers need exactly 9 ¼ hours of sleep). Teenagers do not get enough sleep for a number of reasons: Shift in sleep schedule.
Teenagers stay up late for three main reasons. First, biological shifts in the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, make teens stay up later. Second, social media can keep kids up and blue light from devices suppresses melatonin production. Third, having a lot of homework can keep kids up late.
The easy experimental answer to this question is 264 hours (about 11 days). In 1965, Randy Gardner, a 17-year-old high school student, set this apparent world-record for a science fair. Several other normal research subjects have remained awake for eight to 10 days in carefully monitored experiments.
When surveyed, the average curfew for 17-year-olds, set by parents or guardians, was 9:00-10:00 on school nights and 11:30-12:00 (midnight) on weekends. A 17-year-old's curfew may look much different depending on jobs, sports, and sense of responsibility.
Causes of sleep issues in teens
Rapid body changes, especially in adolescence, can disrupt sleep. This happens because the growth phase they're in causes their circadian rhythm—the body's internal clock—to reset, delaying their sleep cycle. Stress, anxiety, and worry are other common reasons for sleep problems.
Research has shown that adolescence brings with it a shift in biological sleep patterns. Thanks to changing circadian rhythms at this stage, teens naturally get tired later on at night. It's also harder for their bodies to wake up in the mornings.
The 15 minute rule
If, after 15 minutes, you find that you are not asleep, don't stay in bed. if you're still awake after another 15 minutes, get up again and repeat. This helps with associating your bed with sleep and has been found to be one of the nost effective strategies to address long-term sleep difficulties.
The Best Time to Sleep Is Between 8 p.m. and Midnight
To align our sleep schedules with our body's natural cycles (our circadian rhythms), adults should go to bed when it's dark out, after 8 p.m. We also get deeper, more restorative sleep when our sleep time begins before midnight.
Waking up at 5 a.m. can be very beneficial, says Dr. Anisha Patel-Dunn, a psychiatrist and chief medical officer of LifeStance Health, an outpatient mental health company.
Most teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep each night. Some need as little as 7 hours or as much as 11 hours. It's very common for children in the early teen years to start wanting to go to bed later at night and get up later in the morning.
Wyatt Shaw still holds the record for longest sleep which is 11 days.
The bare minimum of sleep needed to live, not just thrive, is 4 hours per 24-hour period. Seven to 9 hours of sleep are needed for health, renewal, learning, and memory.
Beneath the surface, your body is aging too, and sleep loss can speed up the process. A study done by UCLA researchers discovered that just a single night of insufficient sleep can make an older adults' cells age quicker. This might not seem like a big deal, but it has the potential to bring on a lot of other diseases.
It's kind of cool when you think about it—that around the time of puberty, adolescents show a hormonally driven shift in their circadian rhythms that allows them to stay awake later and sleep in later.
Sleep and Aging
Older adults need about the same amount of sleep as all adults—7 to 9 hours each night. But, older people tend to go to sleep earlier and get up earlier than they did when they were younger. There are many reasons why older people may not get enough sleep at night.
We do not recommend sleeping for only one hour at night. Some research suggests that lost sleep can take years off your life and that you may not be able to catch up on the lost hours of rest. This is because consistent sleep deprivation can cause a myriad of chronic health issues in people over time.
3 hours before bed: No more food or alcohol. 2 hours before bed: No more work. 1 hour before bed: No more screen time (shut off all phones, TVs and computers). 0: The number of times you'll need to hit snooze in the AM.