Is Your Teen Having Trouble Sleeping? Learn To Help Them To Get to Sleep

Understanding Teen Insomnia

Insomnia is a very common sleep disorder that most people encounter sometime or other in their lifetime. Insomnia is often identified as an annoying inability or difficulty falling asleep. It is annoying because the more you try to sleep, the more sleep eludes you. Though insomnia is often noticed more in aged population, it is very common among teenagers to have trouble sleeping. Teenagers who call themselves "Night Owls", or who hate to sleep early at night, often suffer from this disorder.

Adolescence or teenagehood is the most crucial period of our life because it is the time where we evolve from child into adult. Apart from physiological changes, teenagers have to cope with psychological changes too. Not only does their world-view undergo rapid change, the world-view of family and friends changes as well. Often parents don't realize that their teenager's refusal to sleep at the proper hour may in fact be a serious health issue and not a rebellious act.

Let us look at the probable reasons of teenage insomnia

Stress: Stress can occur because of physical and/or emotional (mental) stress. Physiological i.e hormonal changes can wreak havoc in a growing child's body, brain and mind. The brain gets totally re-wired on an emotional level; they can no longer ask their Mom to put them to sleep. Having some adult guidance as they grow and mature through this phase can prevent them becoming isolated while trying to assert and understand themselves.

Caffeine: The modern world is caffeine dependent - caffeine is present in coffee, tea, cocoa, colas and other aerated soft drinks. The worse side-effect of caffeine is that it results in a state of wakefulness which often disrupts sleep-cycle. What is more worrying is - caffeine is very addictive. Teenagers are addicted to daily intake of chocolates, colas or even coffee and tea.

Huge Workload: Teenagehood is the phase where studies become tougher as they have to prepare for school finals or board exams. Academic pressure can result in performance anxiety. Moreover, with a lot of distractions, there is a tendency for procrastination and then having to work against deadlines. They have to stay awake to work on projects or study for exams and this can mess up normal sleep-cycles and reset their biological clock.

School related worries: School can be a hothouse of academic and peer pressure. School is no longer a care-free fun zone. Teenagers have to assert and build their individuality while fighting huge odds and emotions. These worries can cause them to have trouble sleeping.

Treatment

Once a problem is identified, the onset of long-term insomnia can be prevented by early intervention. A discussion with your teenager about your observations, and an explanation of what insomnia is, could be a great place to start. Once they are conscious of the problem and are convinced about the need/benefits of regular sleep, they are equipped to take action and manage their sleep-cycles.

Another vital factor is home environment. If the atmosphere and overall mood at home is relaxed it can help in restoring peace of mind for stressed and troubled teenagers. This certainly helps them sleep better. Also, music often helps in relaxing a stressed state of mind.

If all above factors fail to fix insomnia then we need to look for different therapies. There are many natural therapies such as acupressure, acupuncture, Ayurveda's natural medicines, yoga therapy etc. Their main purpose is to relax the body and mind. Teenagers should be encouraged to participate in sports and other physical exercises that will tire them enough to sleep well at night.

Sleep is important for both body and brain. It is best to nip sleep related problems in the bud. Peep into your teenager's room and if you see them often staring into their computer/mobile/PSP screen or being wakeful, or have trouble sleeping, it's time to intervene to make sure they get enough sleep at night. If nothing else works encourage them to read a book - nothing relaxes the mind and induces sleep like a good read.

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