While sleep is always important for every human, this is especially true for adolescents.
They need their minds working well for school, and need more sleep than most adults.
Unfortunately, many adolescents have to deal with common sleep-related issues like insomnia.
These can make it incredibly hard to fall asleep and stay asleep constantly.
Long nights sitting awake in bed are common for those with insomnia or other related sleeping issues.
This leads to many adolescents not getting enough sleep, which can hurt their grades and performance at school, as well as their extracurriculars.
Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to improve your sleep and deal with/cure your insomnia, and this blog post is going to go over a few of them.
Choose a Better Mattress To Sleep On
Sometimes, issues sleeping at night can often stem from something as simple as the quality of your bed.
Many of us don’t replace our mattresses very often, so an old mattress is often to blame for the sleeping problems of many teens and young adults.
Spending a bit of money on a new mattress can be a worthy investment.
Of course, not all mattresses are created equally.
Some offer a lot of firm support for those who need it, while others are very soft and cozy, for those who prefer that.
Getting the right kind of mattress will ensure you can stay comfortable, which can help those who may struggle with sleep.
Once you know the kind of bed you like, be sure to make yourself aware of the options available in that category.
There are several online resources (like this link: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/bedrooms/21281837/best-memory-foam-mattress/) that are great for learning more and comparing some of the options.
Find Ways to De-Stress and Relax in the Evening
Another great way for adolescents to deal with sleeping difficulties is to give themselves time to decompress before bed.
Many teens will be up late playing video games or sitting on their phones, and then try to go right to sleep.
The bright lights from these devices can make transitioning right to sleep quite difficult.
Instead, stay off of your devices right before bed and look for ways to relax and de-stress before heading to bed.
This could be taking a warm bath, reading your favorite book, listening to calming music or even some meditation.
The more calm and relaxed you are before bed, the easier it will be not only to fall asleep, but also stay asleep.
Keep a Consistent Sleeping Schedule
Having a consistent sleeping schedule is another good idea if you are dealing with insomnia or another related sleep disorder.
If you have a normal bed time and a normal time you wake up, your body can begin to adapt to that schedule and it will become easier and easier to sleep and develop a rhythm.
If you are constantly waking up and going to bed at different times, your body will become confused and not quite know what time is normal for sleeping and waking.
This means your body will need to work harder to fall asleep, and waking up won’t be easy either.
In addition to helping you sleep better, a consistent sleeping schedule can also be great for your health.
Consider Cognitive Therapy
If all of these tactics have not been able to help you improve your sleeping quality or duration, it might be time to consider CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia).
While things like sleep medication can be helpful, therapy for insomnia can often get to the root cause of your sleeping problems, and help you deal with them.
There are several techniques that can be used in these therapies, including stimulus control, sleep hygiene, biofeedback and several others.
This therapy can also provide you with a ton of helpful information about sleeping better, and also help you come up with some important sleep-related goals and improve your sleep environment.
Helping You Deal With Your Insomnia
Insomnia is an incredibly difficult thing to deal with.
This is especially true for adolescents who deal with school, work, and many other responsibilities.
We hope the tips and information included in this guide have been able to help you manage, cure or deal with your insomnia.