NURSING NOTES
NO. 01
SEPTEMBER 2026

Sleep

It is a few weeks into school. Every morning it is the same routine. You wake up earlier than you ever thought you needed to, and then go in to your teen’s room 2, 3, 4 times to wake them up. Their alarm is blaring because they have either slept through it or ignored it. The bus is coming in 30 min and you know that there is at least a 25 min skin and hair routine that needs to happen for them ( their choice not yours ). They are anxious and cranky, you are anxious and frustrated, and your coffee that you made when this process started is getting cold. You stomp down the stairs trying to figure out why this happens every morning and wondering if it is time to call the doctor. My answer will always be, if you think you should call the doctor, do. Even if it is not something that requires an appointment, your doctor should be informed of your concerns. 

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy on Sleep Medicine recommend teens get 10 hours of sleep every day.  Think of a typical teenage girl during the school year. If they are into skin and haircare routines, they may be up 1-2 hours before they need to leave. Others, will roll out of bed and just make it on the bus. Either way, they spend the day at school, come home,and do homework and then off to sports. Some don’t even come home first, just straight into activites. Once they are in high school, these activities get later and later. They are getting home at 9pm, sometimes later. They are hungry, sweaty, and probably still have some homework to finish. They get to bed around 11 and are waking up at 5. And all of that is not factoring in the extra time they may be scrolling on their phones “to wind down”. What happens ? A day off, or a weekend, or a vacation comes and they ( and you are walking zombies) . You after all are probably waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or just because your cortisol is spiking and your body is telling you 3am is a good time to be awake and worry about everything that has happened in the past 5 years. 

Where are the phones sleeping?

A 2026 study showed that teens who use their phones for 20 min before bedtime , would then use their phones late night for an additional 8-9 min. This may not seem like a lot, but having the brain stimulated that late at night makes it harder to settle and harder to wake up. Another study showed that teens who got a phone before age 13 showed insufficient sleep at 14 . Now let’s look at you. You are waking up during the night , sometimes falling back to sleep, sometimes not.If your teens are old enough to drive and they are not home yet before you go to bed, you are tracking them. I get it. If not checking where your child is is going to make you more anxious and not sleep, then do it. Better yet, have them text you when they arrive to their destination or home. If possible, when everyone is under the same roof, try and stay off the phone for at least an hour before going to sleep. I started keeping my phone across the room , and remind my kids to do the same, to help with the middle of the night scrolls. 

What’s trending now?

There is something called Sleepmaxxing that is all over social media right now. Content creators are telling us the following things to get “ the best possible sleep”

- cold dark rooms

- magnesium

-mouth taping

- eating kiwi before bed

I am going to start with my biggest red flag or red stop sign, and then I will explain what I do an you can see if it works for you. Please do not tape your mouth because you have watched something on the internet. This has no scientific basis, and in fact, if there is underlying undiagnosed sleep issues, could be very harmful. I am not giving any supplement recommendations here for you or your teen. What may work for me , may not for you, so you should always discuss with your doctor.  As far as everything else on the list and the sleep trackers, my thoughts are if it helps you be more calm and get a better night’s sleep, great. If , it is going to be one thing you are worrying that you are doing wrong or worse worrying about yourself and your teen, let’s make it easier.

What I do believe in:

 Sleep hygiene. A cool dark room, quiet, peaceful, relaxing. In my house, phones are across the room with blue light lowered. No screens ( tv, laptop, phone) for one hour. I love to brain dump before bed. This is not the time to fix all the problems of the day, just get them out of your head and on paper. I find the nights I do this, I sleep much better. For my girls, I noticed they are sleeping better when it is cool and dark as well. Sometimes white noise helps. I do limit caffeine to the morning and rarely drink alcohol anymore and when I do it is several hours before I sleep.

When is sleep an issue:

If you or teen has had any of the following, it is time to call the doctor and have a discussion:

Significant mood or behavior changes

Daytime sleepiness

Any associated symptoms like dizziness

Needing to miss activities because of excessive fatigue

Snoring, gasping, pauses in breathing while sleeping 

When you call, be ready to discuss what time you or she goes to bed versus falling asleep ( do you lay awake for hours), wake up time, any supplements you are taking, any electronic, caffeine or alcohol use. This will help streamline the visit when you have these answers ready. 

As always, I would love to hear from you. My inbox is open for your questions!