Sleep training is no longer just for babies. Some schools are teaching teens how to sleep

The topic of a new course at Mansfield Senior High School is one that teenagers across the country are having trouble with: How to Get to Sleep. One ninth grader in the class says his method is to scroll through TikTok until he nods off. Another teen says she often falls asleep while on a late-night group chat with friends. Not everyone takes part in class discussions; some students are slumped over their desks napping. Sleep training is no longer just for newborns. Some schools are taking it upon themselves to teach teenagers how to get a good night's sleep. "It might sound odd to say that kids in high school have to learn the skills to sleep," says Mansfield health teacher Tony Davis, who has incorporated a newly released sleep curriculum into a state-required high school health class. "But you'd be shocked how many just don't know how to sleep." Adolescents burning the midnight oil is nothing new; teens are biologically programmed to stay up later as their circadian rhythms shift with puberty. But studies show teenagers are more sleep deprived than ever, and experts believe it could be playing a role in the youth mental health crisis and other problems plaguing schools, including behavioral and attendance issues. "Walk into any high school in America, and you will see kids asleep. Whether it's on a desk, outside on the ground or on a bench, or on a couch the school has allotted for naps—because they are exhausted," says Denise Pope, a senior lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Education. Pope has surveyed high school students for more than a decade and leads parent sessions for schools around California on the importance of teen sleep. "Sleep is directly connected with mental health. There is not going to be anyone who argues with that." The district's high school is piloting the new curriculum, "Sleep to Be a Better You," hoping to improve academic success and reduce chronic absences, when a student misses more than 10% of the school year. During the six-part course, students are asked to keep daily sleep logs for six weeks and rate their mood and energy levels. This article was provided by The Associated Press.