Teens Staying Up All Night?

On Therapy Thursday, we were joined by Rock and Fox Show therapist Autumn Prior. Autumn talked a lot about the amount of stress that we are collectively going through during this time of isolation. She said what we are being asked to do is unnatural, therefore it is a major source of anxiety and stress for many, many people.

For parents, one of those sources of stress might be dealing with teens that are staying up until all hours of the night. Autumn assured us that if you are going through this problem right now with your teenager, you are NOT alone.

Autumn said that the problem tends to be with social media.

"I'm thankful that we have social media right now because it does bring some positives. I can't imagine going through this without it," she said. "If this had happened when we were kids back in the '80s and '90s, we'd be in a much worse position of isolation than we are now."

The problem comes when the social media and FaceTiming on the phone take precedence over sleep. It can be very harmful.

"When it comes at the expense of your sleep, it is setting you up for more mental health issues," Prior said. "You are supposed to be sleeping at a certain time. Your body is built with rhythms that dictate that you are supposed to be sleeping at night."

Therefore, if your teen is staying up until three or four in the morning, even if they sleep until 2 p.m. the next day, "it's not what your body is wanting or needing."

Autumn recommends trying to educate your teenager about why it is so important to get proper sleep. If that doesn't work, she says taking away WiFi access might be the way to go.

"If you show you can't make good decisions for yourself, I will make them for you," she said should be the message.