It’s no secret that teenagers don’t get enough sleep. Just ask their parents and teachers! Whether this lack of sleep is due to insomnia and other sleep disorders or is the result of poor lifestyle choices, the result is the same. Teenagers who need between 8 and 9 hours of sleep every night aren’t getting it and this is leaving them sleep deprived. Fortunately, there are some sleep remedies for teenagers that are easy to implement.

As the parent of a teen, I had to stand my ground when it came to making sure my child got enough sleep every night. The first thing we did was establish a proper sleeping schedule.

Going to bed at the same time every night and waking up at the same time every morning works to train your body to know when it’s supposed to be sleeping and when it should be sleeping. (And this is good advice for adults as well as teens.)

Another helpful thing that parents can do to help their teens get more sleep is to make turning off electronics such as tvs and computers at least a half-hour before bed a household rule. Be prepared to stand your ground on this one, and move the electronics out of your teen’s room if you have to. As I wrote in an earlier article on creating the perfect sleep environment, there shouldn’t really be any electronics in the bedroom anyways. (Easier said than done, I know!)

Turning off the cell phone at night is another way to ensure that your teen’s sleep isn’t interrupted by other non-sleeping teens. Voice mails and text messages can always be left and dealt with the next morning.

When it comes to sleeping remedies for teens, common sense and good sleep hygiene apply just as for adults. Following these tips will help to ensure that both you and your teenagers will all benefit from a good night’s sleep.

The latest round of research being presented at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) conference in Minneapolis provides proof of the relationship between sleep deprivation and poor academic performance.

In one study being presented today, researchers found that college students who pull “all-nighters” — a single night of total sleep deprivation — tend to have a lower grade point average than those who make time for sleep. [Source: College students who pull 'all-nighters' and get no sleep more likely to have a lower GPA]

A second study found that students pursuing degrees in medical and engineering related fields are more likely to be sleep deprived than their counterparts in the humanities. [Source: Students with medical-related majors more likely to have poor quality sleep]

Researchers in both studies concluded that sleepiness and poor quality sleep are the norm for most college students. In the case of the second study, however, it was found that “sleep deprivation was longer and frequency of sleep medication use was higher in STEM [statistics, technology, engineering, math and medical-related majors] compared to humanities,” according to study author Aryn Karpinski of West Virginia University.

(Note: This article adapted from press releases issued by EurekAlert!)

Image Credit: sxc.hu