Tips to improve your sleep – for 11-18 year olds

How can I improve my sleep?

There are lots of things you can do to try and improve your sleep. These include things to do in the daytime, and things to do right before you sleep.

This page offers practical tips on how to improve your sleep. If something isn't working or you don't feel like you can try it now, you can always try something else. You might find that different things work for you at different times.

You might need to try a few tips at once, or give them some time to see if they help.

How to get back to sleep after waking in the night

If you have trouble sleeping through the night, you might worry about how to fall back asleep. Or you might feel frustrated that you can't get back to sleep.

Try to remind yourself it's OK and normal to feel this way. It won't last forever. Finding ways to relax yourself, even if you're not asleep, can help you prepare for sleep. Try out some of our tips to get back to sleep during the night.

Find ways to soothe yourself

Keep some things close by for if you wake up. This could include:

• Water
• A comforting item, like a blanket
• Something to listen to

Some of us might find it helpful to keep a notebook nearby to write down any dreams, nightmares or other thoughts.

If you're woken up by noise, listening to soothing sounds, like white noise or nature sounds, might help. Before bed, you could set up headphones by your bedside with sounds or a podcast ready to play, in case you wake up.

I looked up Pinterest ideas and bullet journalling – I just write in different journals when I have disturbing dreams. Don't think it has to be perfect, just write.

Take a break from trying to sleep

If we've been awake for a long time and can't sleep, we might feel frustrated or stressed. But the more we try to force ourselves to sleep, the harder it might be.

Instead, it can help to get up and do something relaxing. When we feel more relaxed, we might find it easier to fall asleep.

For ideas on how to relax, visit the Teen Sleep Hub.

How to improve your sleep now

If you want to try out some ideas right away, here are some things you can do before you go to bed tonight. They might help prepare your mind and body for sleep.

Make yourself more comfortable

We might not have control over where we sleep. Like if we're in hospital, sharing a room or living somewhere for a short time. But there might still be some things you can change or ask for help with. You might not be able to do some of these things right now, and that's OK too.

You could try the following ideas to make yourself more comfortable:

• Get the temperature right. Try to make sure it's not too hot or cold. Some of us find it easier to get to sleep in a cool place.
• Get the lighting right. Bright light can make us feel more awake and less tired. You could wear an eye mask or put up a blackout blind to help block out light if it's too bright to sleep. Some of us might find it comforting to use a night light.
• Control or create noise. Using earplugs will help you to block out noise if you need silence. Or you might want to use headphones to listen to something relaxing, like music, white noise or an audiobook.

If you share a bedroom with someone, these tips might feel more difficult. Try talking to them. You might be able to make things work better for both of you. You could share this information with them too.

Now when I struggle to sleep, I just try and lie down in a position I'm comfortable in. I accept that I may not be able to sleep, but I can still try to give my body a rest by lying down and closing my eyes.

Try some relaxing activities

Some of us might find it helpful to try relaxing activities for an hour or 2 before bedtime. You could try:

• Reading physical books or magazines
• Talking to people you live with
• Colouring
• Doing a puzzle
• Breathing exercises
• Gentle stretches
• Meditation
• Tensing and relaxing the same types of muscles at the same time
• Journalling how you feel or things you're grateful for
• Having a warm shower or bath
• Look at other information, like Childline Calm Zone and the Teen Sleep Hub

Try limiting screen time before bed

You might find using screens, like your TV or phone, relax you before bed. Or you might find it keeps you awake for longer. Things that work for you might be different for other people. And that's OK.

Some of us might find it helpful to:

• Keep screens away from where we sleep
• Put devices on silent, so that notifications don't wake us up
• Agree to switch off screens with others at the same time
• Use a blue light filter or night mode on screens
• Let people know we're trying a screen-free bedtime routine – maybe they'll want to join us too

You could also try screen-free activities in the time before you go to bed. You might want to:

• Listen to music, white noise, podcasts or audiobooks
• Read, write, colour or draw on paper rather than screens
• Do physical puzzles or board games

Some of us might find it helpful to make this part of our bedtime routine.

Make a plan for the next day

If you feel like your mind is racing and you're worrying about lots of things, it could help to plan for the next day.

You could try and do the following:

• Make a plan for the day ahead. You could write a to-do list to help clear your mind. Or plan in some time to do schoolwork, hobbies and socialising. This can stop you staying up too late trying to fit everything in. Especially when you're feeling stressed, like about exams.
• Set an alarm and keep it away from your bed if you struggle to get up. This could help you get up and out of bed to turn it off.
• Plan something to look forward to the next day, to help you get up.

• Make your bed once you get up, so it's ready for when you go to bed. This might also encourage you not to go back to bed after getting up.

We might still feel tired or groggy when we wake up. Especially if we're getting up earlier than we want to. This can last a few minutes or a few hours. For tips to feel less groggy in the mornings, check out the Teen Sleep Hub.

Take a nap

If you're feeling tired and not getting enough sleep, you might want to take a nap during the day.

A short nap earlier in the day might help you feel more refreshed. But a long nap later in the evening could make it harder to sleep later. It can take a while to figure out what time or length of nap works for you.

How to improve your sleep in the long term

To sleep better in the longer term, it might take some more time and effort. Sometimes it might involve getting professional help, as well as trying to help yourself. We have different tips and ideas you could try to improve your sleep in the long term.

Create a routine

Going to bed and getting up at the same time can help us sleep better. But this can be difficult depending on your schedule or how you're feeling, so try not to worry if you can't do this. Trying your best is more than enough.

You might want to do the same things daily to get your brain and body prepared to sleep.

For example:

• Try to plan your day ahead of bedtime. Try to finish things like work, studying for exams, or other responsibilities earlier in the day. Like if you plan to go to bed at 11pm, try to set yourself a deadline of 8pm for other activities.
• When you're getting ready for bed, try some relaxing activities for an hour or 2 before bedtime.
• Only use your bed for sleeping. If you can, don't spend time in bed doing other activities like working or using your phone. This helps your body and brain to think of bed as a place for sleep only. If you're finding it hard to sleep, sitting somewhere else and doing a calm activity could help. You could sit on the floor, or on a pillow, chair or beanbag.

So that I don't worry and stress when trying to sleep, I tell myself every night in bed ‘I have done everything that I can/need to do today’.

Identify what's causing your sleep problems

If you've tried lots of things to improve your sleep but nothing works, it might help to think about what's causing your sleep problems.

You could download and fill in our ‘What's disrupting my sleep?’ resource to look at what affects your sleep.

Download our resource as a Word file using the link below. The Word file will either open in a new tab or go to your downloads folder:

• Download sleep resource as a Word file

You can also use this to write out tips for things you might be able to change. Even if there are only small things you can change, they can really help.

Different people find different things helpful. This can change over time, too. Keeping track of what you've tried can help you understand what works for you.

It might not be clear what's causing you to struggle with sleep. It's likely to be a combination of things. You might try lots of things to help with your sleep, or you might want to try 1 thing at a time.

Prepare for changes in your routine

If our routine changes, this might affect our sleep. For example, when the clocks change, during Ramadan or while we're on holiday from school or college.

We might sleep more on the weekends if we're not getting enough sleep during the week. Like if we get up earlier for school, college or work on weekdays.

Even if we have changes in our routines, it might help to do the following:

• Set a time to wake up the next day.
• Try to keep your usual bedtime routine as much as possible.
• Plan ahead if you know your routine will be different. It can help to prepare for this. Like making your environment dark to help you sleep. Or allowing more natural light in the morning to help you wake up.
• Take care of your wellbeing in other ways, like planning relaxing activities on days you know you might feel more tired.

Look after your wellbeing

Looking after yourself, especially during the daytime, can help you get better rest at night. This might include:

• Eating a varied and balanced diet
• Drinking enough water
• Getting outside in nature
• Doing what you can to feel clean and fresh, like brushing your teeth
• Doing some exercise

For lots of us, it's better to avoid intense exercise 2 to 3 hours before sleep. This might be hard if you do sports in the evenings. But you could try some relaxing activities afterwards.

Some of us might also try and use substances to help us sleep, but this can be unhelpful. Alcohol, nicotine, drugs and caffeine can all make our sleep worse. And it might be better for sleep if we avoid caffeine after lunchtime.

You might want to see if these things affect your sleep, but it's OK if different things work for you.

Talk to others

You could try talking to someone else about sleep – like a parent, carer, partner or friend. You could tell them what you're finding difficult and what you'd like to change. They could help you apply these changes, too, like helping you keep a routine.

You could start by saying:

• ‘I'm worried about ____ and I think it might be affecting my sleep.’
• ‘I've been struggling with staying asleep at night and I'm not sure why. Is there anything you think I should do?’
• ‘I'm struggling with tiredness during the day and I feel like I might need to sleep for longer. Could we talk about changing my routine?’
• ‘I've been feeling ____ and I don't know what to do about it. Do you have some time to talk to me?’
• ‘I'm trying a new bedtime routine. Could you support me and keep me accountable by reminding me to ____.’

One tip would be let people know you are struggling with your sleep. They will adapt and try to help you as best they can.

Look for professional support

Whatever you're experiencing, and whatever you're feeling, is valid. If you've been having problems with sleep for a long time, you might need some extra help.

You could talk to your doctor. They might have suggestions for things that could help. They could refer you to a service like Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

Your doctor could also refer you to a sleep clinic to help manage sleep problems. But it can take a while to get an appointment for these services.

The Sleep Charity has a free helpline for practical advice and support from trained advisors. To find out more, go to The Sleep Charity website.

For more information about where to look for professional support, visit our page on support for your mental health.

Sleep medication

There are lots of different types of medication to help us get to sleep, and to stay asleep. But doctors don't usually prescribe medication for sleep if you're under 18. Normally, they'll only prescribe it if nothing else has worked and your sleep is very poor. But they might prescribe sleep medication if you have a mental health problem or you're neurodivergent – like if you're autistic or have ADHD.

Your doctor should check with you at least every 6 months to see if you still need support. And it's helpful to also try other tips alongside taking medication. If you're thinking of buying something to help you sleep from a shop or pharmacy, talk to your doctor about it first.

Sometimes, other types of medication can change your sleep. This includes some types of medication for mental health problems. Your medication might have side effects related to sleep, like making it better or worse, or making you feel more tired or awake.