TAMPA, Fla. — Many of us may feel a little extra tired this week thanks to daylight saving time. But the time change might be even harder on your teenager, according to doctors.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson is a cognitive specialist and works with Brain Balance. Dr. Jackson said sleep is the engine that allows us to use our brains to the best of our abilities.
She said if your child is struggling with mood, focus, and productivity not just this week, but at any point, you need to consider that a lack of sleep is contributing to it. This can go deeper than just getting to bed at a decent hour.
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“For teens that technology temptation is big as it is for adults, so I’m encouraging your teen to get into a habit of no-tech an hour before bedtime and not plugging your phone in right next to your bed, and making sure alerts are silenced when we hear the phone ding our natural reaction is to grab it and check. If that’s as we’re trying to fall asleep that can be so disruptive to that quality sleep that is needed to succeed the next day,” explained Dr. Jackson.
Dr. Jackson also has a few more helpful sleep tips. She said limit light in the bedroom, something as little as a streetlight from outside has been shown to affect the quality of sleep. If you're having trouble falling asleep, Dr. Jackson encourages three to five minutes of exercise to spike heart rate in the morning to help the brain cycle to sleep in the evening.
