Struggling to Reset Sleep for School? Here’s How to Help Kids and Teens
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After a summer of late bedtimes, getting kids and teens back on a school sleep schedule can feel challenging. Whether they’re 7 or 17, the shift from vacation mode to classroom-ready sleep isn’t always smooth. But, with the right timing and a little science on your side, you can reset their rhythm and set the stage for calmer mornings and better focus.
- Why Summer Disrupts Sleep Routines
- Younger Kids: Tackling Sleep Anxiety and Dependence
- Teens: Why Nights Aren’t Laziness
- Start Ahead of Time
- What If You’ve Tried Everything?
- Learn More About Back-to-School Sleep
Why Summer Disrupts Sleep Routines
Late nights, family trips, and relaxed routines during summer can cause shifts in your kids’ and teens’ sleep. This can be caused for different reasons, like sleep anxiety for kids and changing internal clocks for teens.
While changes in sleep can feel challenging, understanding that this is likely due to neurochemistry is key. When we stop fighting biology and start working with it, we open the door to real change.
Younger Kids: Tackling Sleep Anxiety and Dependence
Parents often tell me their child was sleeping independently all last school year, only to suddenly start needing them again after summer. This regression is common as kids may have gotten used to falling asleep next to you on vacation, or they heard a scary story at a sleepover. What looks like stalling or manipulation is actually often sleep anxiety, which is a real sleep disruption tied to fear and routine loss. With patience and the right plan, you can help your child feel confident sleeping solo again.
The first step is recognizing your role. Without meaning to, you might have become your child’s “sleep crutch”—the one thing they now believe they need to fall asleep. That’s why we encourage parents to shift into the role of “sleep therapist” instead.
When it comes to school kids, the trick is to work with their biological ability to build-up sleep pressure. The longer they stay awake, the more they build up sleep pressure, making it easier to fall asleep.
Through clinical trials, we developed a 2-week method that teaches parents to guide their children gently back to independent sleep with consistent routines and gradually increasing sleep pressure. These techniques have been translated into a parent-friendly guide, Helping Your Child With Sleep Problems, with a step-by-step guide on page 46.
With compassionate consistency, kids can regain confidence at bedtime. You’ll see better focus, smoother mornings and fewer tears.
Teens: Why Late Nights Aren’t Laziness
If your teen stays up late and sleeps in, it’s not just a habit, it’s biology. Teen brains release melatonin—a hormone linked to sleep and circadian rhythms—later in the evening. This indicates their natural sleep window is out of sync with school schedules. It’s why teens often don’t feel sleepy until 11 p.m. or later, and it’s hard to get them out of bed in the morning. This change can become magnified during vacation without the anchor of early morning wakeups.
This isn’t laziness, it’s neurochemistry. It also explains why traditional tips, like earlier bedtimes and no screens, often don’t make a difference.
Instead, focus on shifting their circadian rhythm—their internal clock— using Bright Light Therapy. It’s one of the few scientifically proven tools that can help teens reset their circadian rhythm to fall asleep and wake up earlier without medication. But it only works when timed to their biology, not just the school bell.
That’s exactly what we teach in our Teen Sleep Class. It breaks the science down and gives you tools you can actually use. When timed right, Bright Light Therapy can improve mood, performance, and mental health.
Start Ahead of Time
Sleep rhythms don’t reset overnight. Most families go wrong by waiting until the weekend before school starts instead of preparing earlier. Ideally, you’ll begin adjusting schedules 1 to 2 weeks ahead of the first day back.
What If You’ve Tried Everything?
It’s common to try limiting screens, cutting out caffeine, and making bedtime earlier, but nothing changes. The reason? Most strategies address sleep hygiene behaviors, not biology. And biology tends to win.
When sleep is out of sync with the circadian rhythm, it won’t matter how quiet the house is or how early the lights go off. That’s why we created our Science of Sleep series to go beyond generic advice and deliver age-specific strategies grounded in science.
For teens, that means using light exposure to reset the body clock. For younger kids, it may mean untangling anxiety from routine.
Learn More About Back-to-School Sleep
Helping your child feel ready for the new school year doesn’t begin with backpacks or lunchboxes. It begins with sleep. And while resetting sleep patterns takes time, it doesn’t have to be complicated. A little science, some planning, and a lot of compassion can make all the difference.
Whether your child is anxious at bedtime or just can’t wake up before 9 a.m., with the right strategy things can change. And when sleep improves, so does everything else.
If you’re looking for more guidance, explore our Science of Sleep series—created for real families, backed by real research.
Written by Dr. Mike Gradisar, Clinical Psychologist & Sleep Researcher
If you would like a tailored sleep plan, you can speak with your doctor or a sleep specialist.
