The Fastest Way to Help Your Teen Sleep Better
In my experience, the factor that moves the needle the most in my work with teens with insomnia and their parents is connection.
As a parent, you play a critical role in helping your teen take action and stay consistent, because your teen is often exhausted, overwhelmed, and ambivalent.
Because the main task of adolescence is to become independent, teens value their freedom and are supposed to test their parents’ boundaries. As a result, sleep and electronics are, as you know, a huge point of contention.
When the connection is there, the job of helping your teen sleep better is so much easier.
When I meet with a teen who is not interested in or ambivalent about making changes to their sleep, I suggest to parents that they take the focus off sleep and, instead, invest in the relationship. This is the most efficient and impactful way forward.
Even if you have a solid relationship with your teen, the best way to strengthen connection (and have more influence) is regular one-on-one time.
ACTION:
How could you spend one-on-one time with your teen in the next week?
Ideas from parents of teens that have worked best:
- Playing Just Dance
- Watching a movie or show together
- Preparing and/or having a special meal together
- Asking them to tell you about something that really excites them (even if that thing is their favourite video game!)
You need to get creative to find things your teen will buy into but it's worth it. One-on-one time is a game changer.
If you’d like to listen to me talk about the tricky dynamic between teens and their parents as it relates to sleep, listen to this podcast episode.
All the best!
P.S. Please share this newsletter with anyone you think could benefit!
Want the roadmap for getting sleep on track? Watch my recent webinar "I'm Exhausted But I Can't Sleep!" here.
Want to read past DECODE Insomnia newsletters? Find them here.
Want to listen to the Find the Eight podcast series? Listen to the Find the Eight episodes here (or anywhere you listen to your podcasts) and download the episode worksheets here.
Want to access the other free tips and resources? Visit the website or Instagram.
NOTE: The content, the webinar, and all linked materials in this newsletter provide general information about sleep and insomnia and are not intended to replace medical advice from a qualified healthcare provider. The provided content should not be relied upon for medical diagnosis or management. Please direct questions or concerns to your physician and/or qualified health care provider.
DECODE Insomnia
2-minute sleep tips for parents of tired, sleepless teens
Last year, I took a podcasting workshop to learn how to put together an audio series for teen sleep. Though I had no intention of creating a traditional interview podcast, one of the assignments was to do a guest interview. So I recruited my friend and colleague Dr. Elyse Dubo, a youth psychiatrist and the mother of three daughters in their teens and early 20s. Her insights have stuck with me and have helped to shape the DECODE Insomnia Program, a new program for teens and their parents that...
Last week, I wrote about waiting for your window, as discussed in a recent podcast interview that I recorded with my colleague Dr. Amy Gajaria. That conversation got me thinking about how often I speak to parents about what they can do when their teen is not interested or not able to make changes for sleep. So I created a new resource: 5 Tips to Help Your Teen Sleep Better (Even If They're Not Ready Yet) This tip sheet gives you 'behind-the-scenes' action steps plus what to do when the window...
On May 31st, I will be releasing the first few episodes of The DECODE Project, a podcast about what really moves the needle on change when change is tricky. You'll hear from parents, youth, and other experts as they share the insights, strategies, and frameworks that you can apply to help your teen sleep better...and to navigate other changes after sleep is on track. In this clip from a recent interview, child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Amy Gajaria shares a great piece of advice for...