In adolescence, it is sometimes difficult to sleep here is how to fall asleep quickly teenager?
How to fall asleep quickly as a teenager? What interferes with sleep
Circadian Rhythm Factors (Sleep/Wake):
During adolescence, there is a delay in the release of melatonin (one of our hormones that induces sleep) by the brain. The consequence is that teenagers are not tired until late in the evening. The adolescent's physique is not ready to fall asleep late and this leads to doing things so as not to be bored (using the telephone, watching TV). It becomes difficult to get up in the morning because of insufficient sleep.
Environmental factors that interfere with sleep:
Consumption of alcohol or caffeinated substances often too close to bedtime. Multiple commitments: social activities, school, sports, multiple homework assignments, worry or anxiety about tomorrow's schedules. Many media stimuli before bedtime (TV, video games, cell phones), priority to social activities: sleep has a low priority for an adolescent and is often underestimated compared to the rest.
As a result, teens are at risk of losing hours of sleep during the week, on average a few hours per night. At the end of the week, they have a “sleep debt” of sometimes 10 hours. They can sleep over the weekend to clear this "debt".
What not to do to fall asleep quickly for teenagers
- Consuming alcohol and tobacco: Alcohol consumption, even at low alcohol content, causes daytime sluggishness and can therefore affect sleep the following night. Nicotine is a stimulant and can therefore disturb sleep.
- Do not take stimulant drugs: substances that are on the market to improve attention and intellectual performance are not recommended: these substances often act as stimulants in the same way as caffeine. To ensure better academic performance, you should instead focus on healthy eating, some movement, and getting enough hours of sleep.
- Avoid listening to loud music, doing homework, computer games or any other activity that engages the mind too much, during the hour before bedtime.
- Avoid light sources before to sleep. The blue light from the screen disrupts the day/night cycle and makes it harder to fall asleep.
- Don't let Sundays or holidays become the usual recovery time. This will always advance the biological clock and make it more difficult to fall asleep earlier when the week starts again. - Avoid waking teenagers up late on weekends: this will undermine any efforts made for a good routine.
How to fall asleep quickly as a teenager?
- Watch out for signs of fatigue during the day (degradation of intellectual abilities, anxiety, depression, aggressiveness, poor learning, easy distraction).
- Be realistic with bedtime: 8 hours before waking preferably.
- Recovery naps of about 20 minutes in the early afternoon at 16 p.m. the next day are better than making up for lost weekend hours to pay off your sleep debt.
- Do a relaxing bedtime routine: for example, a bath and a hot drink before bedtime.
- Keep the room dark at night: the sleep-wake cycle of the brain is largely related to the effect of light coming on the eyes. Get a sleep mask preferably.
- Morning, open the windows to get light which stimulates eyesight and helps activate the brain.
How to fall asleep quickly as a teenager? You have all the keys in hand!
