When Your Teenager Cannot Fall Asleep Before Midnight

Your teenager’s body clock has moved later; a fixed time to get up, morning light and phones out of the bedroom can help them fall asleep sooner.

A two-minute read, three things to try, for ages 13 to 18.

Where to start

Keep your teenager’s weekend wake-up time within two hours of school days.
Phones, tablets and consoles charge outside bedrooms overnight, yours too.
No caffeine after lunch, and no energy drinks at all.
Talk to your GP if your teenager still can’t sleep after a few weeks of this, if they snore loudly or seem to stop breathing in their sleep, if they are very sleepy in the day despite enough sleep, or if poor sleep comes with low mood that doesn’t lift.

The rest of the tip, and why it works, is in the library.

Sources

Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Sleep medicine: how to sleep well for teenagers; Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals, Children’s sleep service: sleep in older children (updated July 2024); The Sleep Charity, Teen Sleep Hub; Department of Health and Social Care, Children’s health further protected with energy drinks ban (July 2026); NHS, Who can and cannot take melatonin

It goes with

Screen Time. For parents who have lost the argument about screen hours, and suspect it was never quite the right argument to have.
What Screen Time Actually Is. For parents who feel they have lost the argument about screens.

The first chapter you open here is free to read in full.

Free on this subject

Sleep. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.
Screen time. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.

The rest of the library

The Parent Book is a library written by therapists: chapters on the situations parents bring to our therapy rooms most often, quick tips for tonight, things to do together, and every sheet to print. One subscription opens all of it, from the day you join.

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If you need help right now

If you or your child is in immediate danger: 999 · Go to your nearest A&E · 24/7.
If either you or your child is in a mental health crisis: NHS 111 · England, Scotland and Wales: call 111 and choose the mental-health option. Northern Ireland: call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 · 24/7.
If your child is under 19 and needs to talk to someone themselves: Childline · 0800 1111 · 24/7 · www.childline.org.uk.
If you are worried that a child is being harmed or is at risk: NSPCC Helpline · 0808 800 5000 · Mon-Fri 10am-4pm by phone; email 11am-4pm, seven days a week. An email sent when the service is closed is not received. · email help@nspcc.org.uk · www.nspcc.org.uk/about-us/our-services/nspcc-helpline · If the NSPCC service is closed and the concern cannot wait, call the police on 101. You can also contact the child’s local out-of-hours children’s social care, social work or social services team. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.
If you would prefer to text rather than speak: Shout · Text SHOUT to 85258 · 24/7 · giveusashout.org.
If you or someone you are worried about needs someone to talk to: Samaritans · 116 123 · 24/7 · www.samaritans.org.

If you need help right now

Published by Kensington Square Therapy. Company No. 16707111. Written by therapists registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). This page is not therapy, and not a substitute for professional support. The full library is at theparentbook.com.