How much sleep does a teenager need, sleep standards for teenagers

Why is it so important for children and adolescents to get enough sleep?

Adequate sleep is vital for children:

During the rest period, the brain processes the data received during the day and organizes neural connections. When you don't get enough sleep, the neurons in your brain suffer, causing memory loss. The stronger the lack of sleep, the greater the effect. The child cannot remember new material; the information received is forgotten after a few minutes.
During night sleep, the brain is cleared of metabolic products. Therefore, lack of sleep feels like intoxication.

The human brain is formed before the age of 21. Constant lack of sleep negatively affects its development.

What time should a teenager go to bed?

It is important to maintain the correct sleep schedule so that the teenager’s body recovers from mental and physical stress. If you wake up at 7:00 am, then in order to get enough sleep, the child should go to bed no later than 22:00-23:00; if you need to get up at 6:30, then you should go to bed at 9 pm. The most favorable time for sleep is before 24:00. There are no differences in the need for sleep for boys and girls.

A daytime nap of 30-60 minutes will be beneficial to compensate for the lack of night rest and replenish the energy spent in the first half of the day.

Sleep patterns in adolescents aged fourteen during the day and night

Children don't think about the fact that lack of sleep can lead to serious problems. 14-year-olds should have the same sleep schedule every day.

Teach your child to go to bed at 10-11 pm and wake up at 7 am. And when a tired teenager comes home from school, he can regain his strength by sleeping between 15:00 and 16:00.

Duration of sleep in fourteen-year-old children during the day and night

Of course, teenagers should have not only night sleep, but also daytime sleep. At night, 14-year-olds may need 8 hours of sleep instead of the required 9.5. But soon your child may become nervous and tired.

Children should spend 30-45 minutes on daytime rest. This time is enough to relieve fatigue, gain strength and go to additional classes or training.

Sleep disturbance in a 14 year old child: causes

Doctors are confident that modern children are disrupting their sleep patterns because they spend a lot of time at the computer or TV, watching movies or TV shows.
In addition, many teenagers fall asleep with headphones in their ears while listening to music tracks. Limit your child from these activities before bed.
Drugs containing caffeine that stimulate performance can disrupt sleep.
Poor sleep can also be caused by illness, such as breathing problems. It is worth seeing a doctor to find out if your child is sick.
In addition, a hard sleeping bed or a stuffy room can affect your sleep.

A 14-year-old child constantly sleeps: why?

The main reason in adolescence is stress - both mental and physical. Many parents complain that their children sleep a lot during the day when they come home from school. There are frequent cases when 14-year-olds wake up for dinner and then go to bed to sleep until the morning.

Also, the cause of a constant desire to sleep can be illness . It can go unnoticed.

For example, some diseases of the ENT organs cause lethargy, malaise and occur without high fever. It is worth seeing a doctor and taking the necessary tests.

Comment from doctor Anna Yuryevna Pleshanova, pediatric neurologist:
The main criterion for adequate sleep is the quality of wakefulness.
If a teenager, despite the small number of hours of sleep, gets up easily in the morning, feels normal during the day, does not experience drowsiness or fatigue, successfully copes with educational and sports loads, and has a good memory, it means he has enough sleep.
If the teenager does not meet these criteria, it is necessary to increase the duration of sleep either by going to bed earlier in the evening, or, if possible, by sleeping 40 minutes to an hour during the day.

How much sleep do teenagers of different ages need?

During adolescence, the duration of nightly rest should be at least 8 hours. This norm may be higher depending on the characteristics of a particular child.

Younger teenagers

At 12-13 years old, a teenager should sleep at least 10 hours a day. If you are very busy, a daily rest of 30-60 minutes will be useful. Strict adherence to the daily routine on the part of parents is necessary. At this age, it is still difficult for a child to plan time to get everything done and finish his homework before the evening.

14 years

14-year-olds need 9-10 hours of sleep at night. Daytime sleep is allowed for no more than an hour. It is necessary to develop the habit of falling asleep at 22-23 hours, and getting up no later than 7 am.

15 years

How much sleep a 15-year-old teenager needs depends on the academic load and the needs of the body. It is very important to get enough time to recover the energy expended during the day. Sleep norm is 9.5 hours. If desired, daytime rest is allowed, but you need to wake up no later than 17:00.

Older teenagers

At the age of 16-17 years, children regulate their own daily routine and often neglect sleep standards. How much sleep a 16-year-old needs to sleep is not too different from the previous age.

For sixteen year olds, 9-9.5 hours is enough. The same applies to how much sleep you need at 17 years old. The duration of rest at night is 8.5-9.5 hours. Parents should remind older children how much sleep they need to avoid health problems.

How much sleep does a child need?

This depends on many individual factors, in particular age.
Here are some general guidelines: 1-4 weeks: 15-16 hours per day

Newborns typically sleep 15 to 18 hours a day, but only in short bursts of two to four hours. Premature babies may sleep longer, and colicky babies may sleep less.

Since newborns do not yet have an internal biological clock, the so-called. daily (circadian) rhythm, their sleep times do not correspond to the cycles of day and night. In fact, they have no sleep schedule at all.

1-4 months: 14-15 hours per day

By the age of 6 weeks, babies become a little calmer and begin to develop the habit of regular sleep. The longest periods of sleep increase from four to six hours, and more often occur in the evening. The confusion of day and night gradually ends.

4-12 months: 14-15 hours per day

Although 16 hours is the ideal sleep time at this age, many babies under 11 months only sleep 12 hours. Developing healthy sleep habits is one of the main goals of parents during this period, as the child becomes much more sociable and his sleep pattern becomes much more similar to the sleep pattern of adults.

By 6 months, babies usually sleep three (possibly four) times during the day, and can already sleep through the night without getting their mother up for night feedings. The habit of regularly sleeping during the day appears in a child at a later stage, with the development of his biological rhythms. The morning nap usually starts at 9 and lasts for about an hour. Daytime naps usually begin between 12 and 2 p.m. and last for an hour or two. And late daytime sleep begins between 15 and 17 hours and varies in duration.

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1-3 years: 12-14 hours a day

After the first year of life, closer to 18-21 months, the child stops sleeping in the morning, and he has only one period of daytime sleep. Although toddlers need up to 14 hours of sleep per day, this is often reduced to 10 hours.

Most children between 21 and 36 months of age need only one nap during the day, which can range from one to three and a half hours. They usually fall asleep between 7 and 9 pm and wake up between 6 and 8 am.

3-6 years: 10-12 hours a day

Children at this age usually fall asleep between 19 and 21 hours, and wake up, as before, around 6-8 am, as before the age of 3 years. At 3 years old, most kids still sleep during the day, but already from 5 years old, most try in every possible way not to do this. Daytime sleep periods gradually become shorter. There are usually no new sleep problems after 3 years of age.

7-12 years: 10-11 hours per day

At this age, given social, school and family activities, children gradually fall asleep later and later. Most 12-year-olds go to bed at 21-22 hours. There can be a wide variation in the time of falling asleep, from 19:30 to 22 hours, as well as the total duration of sleep - from 9 to 12 hours. On average, teenagers sleep 9 hours. Providing your child with a night's rest, no less than this duration, is the concern of parents.

12-18 years old: 8-9 hours a day

Sleep remains as vital to the health and well-being of adolescents as it was in infancy and early childhood. Many teenagers need even more sleep than was previously necessary - after all, intensive growth against the backdrop of ever-increasing social activity takes them a lot of energy. It is clear that at the age of 15-16, a growing, inquisitive person has a lot of important things to do, and it’s simply a shame to waste time on “some stupid dream” when there are so many interesting things going on around him. Therefore, the sooner parents manage to establish a bedtime routine and ritual, the easier it will be to get an energetic, stubborn child of adolescence into bed. You just need to do this tactfully, reasonedly, but firmly, so as not to cause unnecessary manifestations of purely teenage stubbornness.

Everyone knows that healthy, full sleep is one of the main life resources of a person. It provides rest, good health throughout the day, gives energy for growth, doing necessary and useful things, and simply for a good and cheerful mood. That is why it is necessary to instill in your child the habit of valuing sleep and observing a proper healthy night's rest regime from early childhood.

Teenagers are night owls and early risers

Biorhythms that affect activity and well-being at different times of the day are very individual. In everyday life, all people are divided into “night owls” and “larks”. People who wake up easily in the morning and go to bed before midnight are called early risers. They are more energetic and full of energy in the first half of the day, and in the evening they get tired early and fall asleep quickly. Night owls wake up in the middle of the day or later and go to sleep after midnight. This type of people is most active in the second half of the day - their sleep phases are delayed, and it is difficult to wake up early in the morning.

The night owl type is very common among teenagers. During the day they are busy with school, extracurricular activities, sections, and socializing with friends.

Since there is not enough time for everything, they postpone unfinished tasks until the evening and night. Over time, the body adapts to falling asleep late, and getting up in the morning is difficult.

How many hours of sleep does an 18 year old teenager need?

Young people of this age often begin to live independently. They set their own sleep and wakefulness patterns, so it is sometimes difficult for them to live by certain rules.

18-year-old boys and girls do not think about sleep standards at all; their heads are occupied with other issues. At night they live in games, the Internet and social networks, and then they sleep until lunch or, when they come home from school, until the evening.

Features of daytime and night sleep in an eighteen-year-old student

A child aged 18 years should go to bed at 10-12 pm and wake up at 6-7 am. Of course, not everyone follows this schedule. But it is worth recognizing that it is from 22-23 hours that the peak of drowsiness occurs.

The earlier a student wakes up in the morning, the better he will feel. To strengthen the body of an 18-year-old, you can add morning exercises to your daily routine.

During the day or at lunchtime, as a rule, children of this age do not sleep.

How much should a student sleep during the day and at night at 18 years old?

The approximate duration of sleep for a teenager is 7-8 hours. How much sleep? The young man must decide for himself.

Some people divide this time into night and day. For example, they sleep 6 hours at night, and rest for the remaining 2 hours at lunchtime. But doctors advise refraining from daytime sleep.

Why does a teenager sleep poorly or not sleep at all: reasons

A child may not sleep well or not sleep at all for a number of reasons.

If your sleep and wakefulness patterns are out of whack.
Frequent stress - both physical and mental.
Stuffy room. It is worth ventilating the room before going to bed.
If he has an uncomfortable sleeping place. There may be a hard mattress or a large pillow.
A disease that goes unnoticed.
Alcohol consumption.
Treatment with medications containing caffeine or performance enhancing substances.
Using technology before bed: laptop, phone, TV.
Experienced stress.

Why does a teenager sleep a lot at 18?

What are the causes of drowsiness or frequent sleep?

Loads: mental and physical.
Lack of sleep and improper sleep patterns.
Disease.

How to deal with teenagers going to bed late

You can cope with the problem using the following recommendations:

Create a daily routine. Rationally distribute tasks in order to manage everything. In this mode, you must allocate free time for hobbies, social networks, and even computer games (moderate time playing will not do any harm).
Avoid being overly busy. If school, extracurricular activities and sports take up the entire day, the child does not have time for his own interests. This affects his sense of self and can even cause depression. It is necessary to reduce the load - give up some clubs and extracurricular activities.
Reduce consumption of caffeine-containing products in the afternoon. After 15.00, do not drink strong tea, coffee, cocoa, energy drinks, or eat chocolate.
Limit daytime sleep. If you have afternoon drowsiness, you can take a nap, but not more than an hour, otherwise nighttime insomnia is guaranteed.

Children should not be given sedatives or sleeping pills. Sleep problems at this age are most often associated with daily routine and lifestyle. They are eliminated in a non-drug way.

How to get rid of daytime sleepiness

Change routine habits.
Remove all electronic devices from the bedroom.
Create optimal, comfortable conditions in the bedroom (air temperature, fresh air access, sound insulation).
Try to spend more time in the fresh air, take daily walks.
Organize a balanced, nutritious diet.
Eliminate or reduce physical inactivity.
Create a favorable home environment and eliminate traumatic factors. If necessary, seek help from a psychologist. If all the measures taken have not changed the situation and the teenager remains sleeping a lot and constantly drowsy, then in order to understand why this is happening, you should contact a medical specialist to rule out diseases that cause severe unreasonable drowsiness.

Daytime sleepiness in a teenager is most often a combination of physiological characteristics of a given age, lifestyle and deviations in the daily routine. A short nap during the day will help you overcome the constant desire to sleep during the day and restore your strength. An adult who sleeps for 30 to 50 minutes during the day will not only get rid of drowsiness, but also improve his health.

What are the risks of lack of sleep in teenagers?

If a child sleeps less than required according to age norms, the following consequences are possible:

low academic performance;
problems with concentration;
memory impairment;
slow reaction;
lethargy and deterioration of health;
loss of creativity;
irritability, unmotivated aggression;
risk of obesity;
increased blood pressure;
headache and nausea.

Statistics show that only 5% get as much rest as a teenager needs. A huge number of children in adolescence suffer from lack of sleep.

Why teenage sleep disorders are becoming more dangerous

Constant lack of sleep leads to problems both for the teenager himself and for those around him:

Academic performance is declining. A sleep-deprived teenager has difficulty concentrating. This leads to conflicts with teachers and reluctance to attend school.
Not being able to get a good night's sleep, a person feels a general malaise. The normal functioning of the immune system is disrupted, which makes the child prone to infectious diseases.
Constant insomnia affects the psychological sphere. It causes panic attacks, depression, and thoughts of suicide. The person becomes emotionally unstable.
The cardiovascular system suffers. With regular lack of sleep, your heart rate increases and your blood pressure rises. This affects overall health and provokes hypertension and arrhythmia in the future.

Features of sleep of a teenager aged seventeen

At this age, children begin to establish their own daily routine. And those who live separately from their parents may adhere to an irregular sleep-wake schedule.

Parents should pay attention to their child and convince him that a certain regime is required for the normal functioning of the teenager’s body.

Sleep patterns in adolescents aged 17 at night and during the day

Children at 17 years old refuse to nap during the day. The main rest should come at night.

Correct sleep schedule: from 10-11 pm to 6-7 am. If the sleep schedule is not the same, parents should sound the alarm and find a way to convince the child that he needs a night's rest.

Duration of sleep in a 17 year old child

A teenager at this age should sleep 8 hours and 30 minutes. Of course, this time can be reduced to eight full hours, but doctors do not advise doing this.

Eight hours of sleep can be left if the child feels well. With 8-8.5 hours of rest, a 17-year-old teenager should accumulate a lot of strength and energy, which he can spend on studying at school/college/university or playing sports.

Why does a 17 year old child sleep poorly during the day or at night?

A student's sleep can be disrupted in a number of cases.

If the room is not ventilated before going to bed.
Due to the fact that the teenager was faced with many educational problems, as a result of which physical, emotional stress or a stressful state appeared.
If the child is sick and does not feel well.
When your child is used to falling asleep in front of a laptop, TV or phone.
Due to improper sleeping place, for example, hard mattress, large pillow.
If a teenager uses drugs containing caffeine or substances that increase performance.

Why does a child sleep a lot at 17 years old?

A teenager may sleep a lot due to improper sleep patterns. If a teenager does not go to bed at night or sleeps less than 8 hours, his emotional and physical state will be on the verge of a breakdown.

Parents note that after 1-2 months of an incorrect sleep schedule, the child becomes nervous, irritable, loses interest in activities that he was interested in before, and develops fatigue and drowsiness.

Also, the reason for the constant desire to sleep can be increased workload. The student may be subject to workload at the educational institution.

In addition, a teenager can attend sports clubs or dance classes and spend his energy on them.

Symptoms of sleep deprivation in a teenager

Determining whether a teenager is suffering from lack of sleep is quite simple. Main symptoms of lack of sleep:

inattention;
heavy morning rise;
nervousness and grumpiness;
decreased ability to work;
memory impairment;
mood swings;
clumsiness;
depression;
short temper over trifles;
chronic fatigue.

Sleep disturbances affect the condition of a teenager's skin, causing acne to appear. A change in appetite becomes noticeable - increased or worsened.

What to do about lack of sleep

To solve the problem of a teenager’s lack of sleep, it is necessary to follow recommendations that will correct the nighttime routine and contribute to a good night’s rest:

Avoid fatty, spicy and smoked foods before bedtime. Dinner should be 3 hours before the night's rest. If your child wants to eat at night, dairy products are the best option.
Get physical activity. Regular moderate exercise helps normalize sleep. If your child does not attend any sports clubs, you need to look for an opportunity to sign him up for training.
Relieve emotional stress. It is very important to talk with a teenager about his experiences and fears so that the child feels cared for. It is necessary to make it clear that in any situation he can count on his parents. This will relieve restless thoughts and help you fall asleep.
Spend time outdoors for at least 2 hours every day.
Make sleep comfortable. The bedroom should have an appropriate environment - dim light, absence of noise and optimal air temperature (from 18 to 20°C).
Set sleep mode. Go to bed and get up at the same time, even on weekends.
Limit time on the Internet. Do not allow yourself to get too involved in computer games, watching videos or chatting online before going to bed.

It’s good if a teenager develops the habit of doing something calm before going to bed - preparing school supplies or clothes for the next day, doing handicrafts, meditating.

What parents can do

When a teenager loses normal sleep during puberty, some parents do not understand what they can do to eliminate insomnia. However, following certain recommendations will allow you to adjust the child’s daily routine, which will normalize a full night’s rest without the use of medications:

Refusal of a late dinner - you should eat 3 hours before bedtime.
Performing sleep hygiene - the room where the teenager rests should be quiet, dark and cool. To do this, the room is ventilated every day and an atmosphere suitable for sleep is created.
Maintaining a daily routine - getting up and going to bed is recommended to be done at the same time. At the same time, you should not sleep more than 2 hours during the day, as it will be more difficult to fall asleep at night.
There is a taboo on long computer games on the eve of bedtime, as well as watching TV - for this it is necessary to remove all equipment from the room where the child sleeps.
Physical activity - if a child is not interested in sports, it is advisable for him to sign up for yoga, qigong and other classes. With the help of this, the child, while performing relaxing physical exercises, at the same time receives psychological relief. Such aspects have a positive effect on normalizing sleep at night.
Dialogue between parents and child. Children in the puberty period need understanding, in this regard, parents are obliged to ask about their experiences, fears and thoughts - this will make it possible to remove emotional stress from the teenager.
A guarantee of support so that the child knows that parents can help him cope with any situation. This will allow the boy or girl to eliminate restless thoughts, calm down and fall asleep naturally.

If all of the above measures are meaningless, parents need to show their child to a doctor, who will determine the causes of sleep deficiency and prescribe the necessary treatment.

Medical assistance

Before starting treatment for a teenager for insomnia, a somnologist (a doctor who studies sleep disorders and their treatment) or a psychotherapist conducts an examination of the patient, which will allow him to make a correct diagnosis and find out why this condition has developed. Only after this the doctor prescribes therapeutic measures for the teenager:

Psychotherapy (organized in individual or group mode)

It is used when the decline in the quality of night's rest is caused by psycho-emotional stress. During classes, the expert is able to identify a person’s problems and select methods to eliminate them. Sometimes not only the child, but also the parents need to visit a doctor.

Taking melatonin

The use of this remedy is required if the patient’s body is not able to produce it fully. The course of treatment and dosage of the supplement used are selected individually, and it is worth knowing that melatonin should not be taken for a long time.

Also, this remedy is prohibited for use by those who have not yet reached the mature sexual stage or are at its initial level.

Drugs to improve sleep

Insomnia at 12–16 years of age is usually a physiological condition, so doctors do not recommend using medications with a hypnotic effect. According to indications, hormonal medications may be prescribed that will replenish the lack of melatonin.

Harmless drugs for the treatment of teenage insomnia:

“Dormiplant”;
“Fitosed”;
“Persen”;
“Motherwort-Forte”.

The given products are made on the basis of medicinal plants. Their action is aimed at calming the nervous system and reducing excitatory processes in the cerebral cortex.

Advice! It is not advisable to treat a child yourself, especially with medications prescribed for insomnia in adults.

Phytotherapy

If a teenager has trouble sleeping due to emotional overstimulation and constant worries, you can use folk recipes. Treatment is carried out using teas and tinctures with a sedative effect.

The following herbs are used for this purpose:

chamomile;
passionflower;
valerian;
mint.

It is necessary to take herbal teas and decoctions with caution.

Attention! Incorrect dosage or exceeding the duration of the course leads to increased excitability. A teenager may also be allergic to the plant. If a runny nose, rash, redness, or swelling of the mucous membranes appears, it is recommended to discontinue herbal medicine.

Homeopathy

Homeopathic medicines are the safest and most effective in treating insomnia. They are not addictive, have no side effects, and are suitable for children and adolescents. It is recommended to take 5–10 drops or 8–10 grains of the drug to restore sleep.

The most popular drugs prescribed by a homeopath are:

“DreamZzz.” The course of treatment helps restore night rest, reduce psycho-emotional stress, and regulates the absorption and excretion of glucose from the body.
"Sonylux". This drug promotes overall strengthening of the body, eliminates headaches and sleep disorders.
“Notta.” Prescribed to reduce excitability, restore emotional state after stressful situations.
“Valerian-Hel.” The drops have a hypnotic effect, help normalize sleep, and eliminate neurasthenia.

Before prescribing the drug, the doctor studies the nature of insomnia and also finds out the reasons for its occurrence. The dosage and course duration are determined individually. In case of diseases of internal organs, homeopathy will not have the desired effect.