Tips For Preventing Insomnia In Adolescents

Insomnia in adolescents can be another reason for poor school performance.

Many factors lead to sleep disorders in adolescents, which also do not exactly simplify the puberty phase – for everyone involved. Help your offspring to prevent such sleep disorders in order to get through this phase of life better.

Why sleep disorders are critical in adolescents

Sleep disorders in adolescents are just as harmful as they are in adults. The quality of the night’s sleep is essential to good physical and mental health.

However, young people are increasingly suffering from more problems in this area. Therefore, in this article, we provide some tips to prevent insomnia in adolescents.

In general, teenagers should sleep at least 8 hours for health and wellbeing. Therefore, we need to know the various causes and factors that can lead to insomnia in adolescents. Only then can the problem be solved.

Keep the following advice in mind to help prevent insomnia in adolescents. As a parent, you can contribute actively and passively. Find out how!

Prevent and combat obesity

Overweight children and adolescents are an increasingly common problem in today’s consumer society due to an unhealthy lifestyle.

One study found a relationship between adolescents with greater difficulty falling asleep and their increased body mass index. This confirms the increasingly serious problem of obesity in children and adolescents.

At the same time, the same thing happens in reverse. This means that sleep disorders in adolescents influence their eating habits, because lack of sleep promotes the consumption of unhealthy foods in particular, which are high in sugar and fat. This, if left untreated, contributes to the worsening of obesity.

With this in mind, a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, lean meat, fish and eggs is essential. At the very least, home meals should be based on these food groups. And that is exactly your responsibility!

However, physical activity is also important in maintaining the weight. Young people should engage in sporting activities. The motivation for this is also your job as a parent.

Regulate cell phone and television consumption

Another reason why insomnia has increased in adolescents is because of new technologies. The amount of time teenagers spend on cell phones, computers, television, or video games is difficult to control.

These devices expose adolescents to overstimulation. This has a direct effect on the nervous system and changes the body’s natural biorhythm, which affects sleep.

However, this is a factor that affects not only teenagers but also parents. This is a measure that must be dealt with by the whole family. There should be a shared responsibility to manage the use of these devices and to avoid them two hours before bedtime.

Avoid tobacco use

There may also be a link between nicotine consumption and poor sleep quality in young people. For the same reason, it can be helpful for adults to quit smoking in order to sleep better.

Parents’ working hours

Finally, another factor emerges in the studies on insomnia in adolescents: the parents’ work schedule, for example if one of them works the night shift.

Therefore, it is important to keep your home sleep schedule calm and quiet. If the teen is already having trouble falling asleep, anyone can wake him up easily. If you or your partner come home late in the evening, make sure that no one can be woken up by your return home, even in a light sleep.

General advice against insomnia in adolescents

These tips and behavioral advice not only help against sleep disorders in adolescents, but also in adults, because they are of a general nature:

• Go to bed at the same time every night.
• Eat a balanced diet and eat foods that may be stimulating in the evening.
• Avoid the abuse of stimulating drinks (coffee, tea, cola, energy drinks).
• Fight obesity.
• Avoid a sedentary lifestyle and exercise several times a week.
• Avoid tobacco and alcohol.
• Control cell phone usage and technology in general, especially in the hours before bed.
• Try to have a stable schedule at home and avoid nighttime activities, which can disrupt the rest of the family.
• The bedroom should be quiet, without light and at a reasonable temperature.

In some cases, sleep disorders can also be related to an oversupply of tasks or social or professional activities. As a parent, you have the responsibility to implement these principles of behavior in yourself as a good example. You will see: not only your offspring will be able to sleep better this way, you too!