You can't retrain a teen's sleep habits overnight, but you can in a few weeks, says Dr. Michel Cramer Bornemann of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center, who offers these suggestions:
• Start shifting go-to-sleep and wake-up times by half-hour increments, then shift again every three days or so. You can't expect someone who's been going to sleep at midnight to drop into slumber at 9 p.m. The key to success with this is being absolutely methodical.
• Bright light not only helps to wake kids up in the morning but it also helps to "reset" the brain to push bedtime to an earlier hour.
• No daytime napping allowed (until the new sleep schedule is well underway).
• No caffeine (energy drinks, caffeinated soda, coffee or tea drinks) at least six 6 hours before bedtime.
• Remove all electronic devices from the bedroom at bedtime.
• After all the above behavioral-change measures have been taken, you can try low-dose, over-the counter melatonin four to five hours before desired bedtime. Melatonin is not an insomnia drug, it's naturally secreted in the brain. It helps the body to flip the sleep switch more easily.
