School's back and so is the regular battle of getting the kids back into a routine and schedule, which means not staying up late and sleeping in! We all know the importance of getting a good night's sleep and the impact that can have on our mood and mental and physical health. However, for teenagers getting a good amount of sleep may be difficult due to a range of external factors such as stress and relationship issues.
Our webinar presentation https://parenthub.pandc.org.au/viewdocument/webinar-teens-and-sleep-how-to-i?CommunityKey=73b7d99d-db38-4a8d-abb6-01887aa431f1. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Teens and Sleep: How to Improve Teen Sleep Habits and Mental Health', co-hosted with Black Dog Institute suggested several strategies that parents and carers can use to ensure their teens get the right amount of sleep each night. Some key suggestions were:
- Educating your teens about the health risks of not getting enough sleep through online resources such as https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Sleep. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Centre for Clinical Interventions.
- Negotiating their screen time use before bed.
- Use the interactive SleepNinja app which delivers six training sessions on good sleeping habits to help your teen develop good habits.
- Work together with your teen to identify if they are stressed and if so, explore options like light exercise, journalling and meditating 1-2 hours before sleep to help them unwind.
We'd love to hear how you have encouraged and established good sleeping habits for your teens!
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Lina Ali
Program Officer - Online Community & Partners
Federation Of Parents And Citizens Association NSW
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