Want to help your teen get more sleep? Try establishing a nighttime routine and limiting the use of digital devices before bed, Australian researchers say.
They used survey data from 309 students at a co-ed school in Adelaide, Australia. Of the students, 59 stayed on campus overnight and 250 commuted from their homes.
Findings show that the boarding students – who were subject to set times for going to sleep and a ban on the use of cellphones or other small screens at night – got 40 minutes more sleep a night than the day students. Study co-author Alex Agostini said that a structured nighttime routine, which is common within boarding school policies, is “more conducive to sleep.”
“Nighttime routine and restricting technology seem to be the key to better sleep,” Agostini said.
The study was published online in the British Journal of Educational Psychology.
