How to get your kids to sleep earlier and the signs of sleep deprivation

Navigating bedtime with a teenager is, in many homes, a nightly battle with a constant refrain: “Get off your phone and go to bed!”

Research shows that today’s teenagers are more sleep-deprived than ever before. Adolescents need between eight and 10 hours of sleep, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

But nearly 80 per cent of American teenagers are not getting that, and experts say it is affecting important areas like mental health and school attendance.

Bedtime routines are not just for toddlers. Teenagers need them too, says Denise Pope, an expert on child development and a senior lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, in the US state of California.

Experts in adolescent sleep say a few small changes to how parents and teens approach sleep can make a dramatic difference. Here is their advice.

The best sleep environment is a cool, dark, quiet room without electronic devices. Photo: Shutterstock

1. A tech-free bedtime routine for teens

The first step to setting up a better bedtime routine is dealing with technology.