Tired, Wired and Falling Behind: The Truth About Teen Sleep

Teen sleep can become a daily battleground. Many parents describe the same pattern: late nights, slow mornings, big moods, and a teen who feels constantly tired, yet still cannot switch off.

In this Let’s All Talk Mental Health session, Dr Faith Orchard, Research Psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of East Anglia, explained what healthy teen sleep looks like, why adolescence changes sleep biology, and which everyday habits tend to knock sleep off track. She also shared practical ways parents can support better sleep, without turning bedtime into a nightly argument.

What does healthy teen sleep look like?

Dr Orchard explained that good sleep is not only about the number of hours. A healthy pattern usually includes regular sleep and wake times, falling asleep reasonably quickly, and feeling alert enough during the day. A helpful guideline for teens is around 8 to 10 hours a night, but there is real variation. If a teen gets less than that but seems well, functioning and coping, it may still be fine.

The clearest indicator that sleep is becoming a problem is impact. If you are seeing changes in mood, motivation, focus, learning, or emotional regulation, sleep is worth looking at more closely.

Why teen sleep shifts in adolescence

During puberty, the body’s sleep systems shift later. This is biological, well evidenced, and not driven by modern society alone. Dr Orchard explained that both sleep pressure, which builds up the longer we are awake, and the body’s circadian rhythm, which releases sleep hormones, naturally delay during adolescence.

The issue is that school start times do not shift with biology. That leaves many teens with a smaller window to sleep on school nights, even when they do everything “right”.

What disrupts teen sleep most

Dr Orchard explained that stress is one of the biggest disruptors, just as it is for adults. Exam periods, friendship turbulence, pressure around schoolwork, and family stress can all increase physical arousal and make it harder to fall asleep.

She also commented that sleep thrives on routine. Irregular sleep patterns, particularly a big gap between weekdays and weekend lie ins, can confuse the body and make Monday mornings feel like jet lag. A practical guideline from sleep science is to keep weekend lie ins to within about two hours of the usual school wake time, where possible.

Daylight and exercise were also mentioned as powerful helpers. Daylight supports the timing of sleep hormones, and exercise helps build healthy sleep pressure.

Devices and sleep: a simpler way to talk about it

Rather than get caught in the debate of screen time and blue lights, Dr Orchard made a straightforward comment that may help parents avoid debates. It was one about displacement. If the device is there, the sleep is not. This can be easier for teens to accept because it is concrete and harder to argue with. If a phone is in bed, sleep is less likely to happen.

She suggested aiming for a routine where devices do not come into bed, and modelling this as adults, because teens will notice inconsistency and unfairness.

Wind down routines that actually help

During stressful periods, such as exams or friendship difficulties, Dr Orchard suggests a consistent wind down routine. This means having the same rhythm each evening for 30 to 60 minutes before sleep, with calm and predictable activities. There is no single perfect routine. It can include reading, drawing, watching TV, a bath, an audiobook, or anything that helps the teen’s body and mind settle.

She also raised a common niggle: doing homework late in the evening can be too mentally stimulating and can keep the brain in a problem solving mode. If homework regularly happens close to bedtime, it can quietly sabotage sleep.

Naps, sleep inertia and waking in the night

Dr Orchard talked about two patterns many families recognise. The first is napping after school. Naps can be tempting when teens are exhausted, but long or late naps reduce sleep pressure and can make falling asleep much harder later. If naps cannot be removed, she suggested keeping them short and as early as possible.

The second is sleep inertia, which is the groggy, foggy feeling some teens experience when they wake in the morning. A little morning grogginess can be normal, but if it lasts a long time it may suggest sleep quality or regularity needs attention. Dr Orchard suggested treating this like an investigation, noticing routines, wake times, bedtime habits, and whether the teen is restless or waking during the night.

She also reassured parents that waking briefly in the night can be normal. The problem is when the waking becomes prolonged and a teen struggles to get back to sleep.

When worry about sleep becomes part of the problem

A difficult cycle Dr Orchard described is when a teen begins to worry about not sleeping, and that worry then makes sleep even harder to come by. In CBT for insomnia, one key principle is to avoid lying awake in bed feeling distressed for long periods, because the brain can start to learn an unhelpful association that bed is a place for worrying rather than resting.

One practical approach is to agree a calm, low-drama plan in advance. If a teen can’t sleep, they get up and do something quiet and non-stimulating elsewhere, then return to bed once they feel sleepy again. When this is discussed ahead of time, it reduces anxiety for everyone and avoids parents feeling on high alert throughout the night.

One parent asked about a young person who struggled to fall asleep and listened to “calming” podcasts until 3–4am. Dr Orchard explained that while this feels soothing, the brain is clever. If a habit keeps a teen awake, the brain interprets it as stimulating enough to maintain alertness. So although it may feel like a healthy sleep strategy, the fact that sleep doesn’t arrive suggests it’s actually prolonging wakefulness rather than helping rest.

Takeaway

Teen sleep is not only about willpower or rules. It is shaped by biology, stress, routine, and the reality of school start times. The most helpful approach is often steady and practical: protect routines, reduce late night stimulation, keep weekends from drifting too far, make space to wind down, and treat devices as something that can displace sleep rather than a topic for debate.

Watch Now

You can watch the full Let’s All Talk Mental Health session with Dr Faith Orchard on the hub.

Dr Faith Orchard also recommend some other helpful resources:

Book “Helping Your Child With Sleep Problems”; co-authored by Michael Gradisar and Rachel Hiller
The Sleep Charity - nice resources for different sleep issues.