New research suggests that parent-set bedtimes play a crucial role in maintaining healthy sleep patterns during early adolescence. The study, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, found that adolescents with parent-set bedtimes slept about 20 minutes longer
Adolescents crave independence as they grow up. One area where this becomes evident is sleep patterns. Many teenagers insist on deciding when they go to bed, moving away from the bedtime rules set by parents.
However, previous research shows that set bedtimes are linked to earlier sleep times and longer sleep duration. Further, adolescents following bedtime rules tend to exhibit better daytime alertness and mood. Despite these benefits, the effects of changing parent-set bedtimes on adolescents’ sleep had not been studied until now.
“I am interested in risk and protective factors for adolescents’ sleep and parents have a great deal of influence on their kids’ sleep. I wanted to know what happens when parents change bedtime rules,” said study author Serena Bauducco, a postdoctoral researcher at Örebro university and Flinders University.
The researchers sought to examine the impact of maintaining or changing bedtime rules on adolescents’ sleep patterns. The researchers hope this will provide further understanding of the role parents play in ensuring their teenagers get sufficient sleep.
The study utilized data from the Health4Life project, a large experiment assessing the efficiency of an eHealth intervention on improving lifestyle habits among Australian high school students. For this analysis, only students not exposed to the intervention were included to avoid bias. The final sample comprised 2,509 adolescents, all with data on parent-set bedtimes at two specific ages, 12-13 and 13-14 years old.
The researchers grouped the adolescents based on the bedtime rules set by their parents. There were four groups: adolescents with parent-set bedtimes at both time points, those with no bedtime rules at both time points, those who switched from parent-set bedtimes to no rules, and vice versa.
To measure the adolescents’ sleep, they were asked about their sleep habits over the past week, focusing on weekdays. Researchers evaluated bedtime (first sleep attempt), sleep onset latency (time taken to fall asleep), wake after sleep onset, and total sleep time.
The results showed that changes in bedtime rules significantly influenced adolescents’ bedtime and sleep duration. When parents consistently set bedtimes or introduced them at the second time point, adolescents had earlier bedtimes and longer sleep duration compared to those without set rules.
“Parent-set bedtimes are protective of adolescents’ sleep,” Bauducco told PsyPost. “Adolescents whose parents set their bedtimes slept 20 minutes more than adolescents who did not have rules, that makes a significant impact on their daytime functioning.”
The time taken to fall asleep did not significantly differ across the groups, possibly due to factors like biological and cognitive-emotional influences that are less affected by behavior changes.
Interestingly, the study found that some parents successfully introduced or reintroduced bedtime rules during adolescence, which appeared to deter the trend of delayed bedtimes and reduced sleep duration. This finding challenges the commonly held belief that once teenagers gain sleep autonomy, they won’t accept the return of bedtime rules.
“We didn’t expect to find a group of adolescents who didn’t have a bedtime at time 1, but reported parent-set bedtimes at time 2,” Bauducco explained. “We assumed that once independence is granted it is difficult to reintroduce rules. However, other studies interviewing adolescents have found that teenagers want their parents to help them sleep better. These teenagers slept ~20 min more than peers without bedtimes, showing how powerful bedtime rules are.
The study concluded that sleep interventions should aim not only at maintaining but also reintroducing bedtime rules, even during mid-adolescence. Further research could explore other characteristics of families who successfully reintroduce bedtimes and promote healthier sleep habits among their teenage children.
“We want to know more about the families that are able to maintain or even reintroduce bedtimes,” Bauducco said. “That would inform interventions to support parents in maintaining good sleep habits for their teenagers.”
The study, “It’s past your bedtime, but does it matter anymore? How longitudinal changes in bedtime rules relate to adolescents’ sleep“, was authored by S. V. Bauducco, L. A. Gardner, K. Champion, N. Newton, and M. Gradisar.