From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students. There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years. We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. Visit our Resources page for suggestions of important books for college parents and their students.
The Sleep-Deprived Teen: Why Our Teenagers Are So Tired, and How Parents and Schools Can Help Them Thrive by Lisa L. Lewis is a book that should be read by every parent of a teenager. Parents of teenagers probably know (or at least suspect) that our kids aren’t getting enough sleep, but most of us don’t think there is anything we can do about that. After all, they’re busy kids, they love their technology, and schools make demands and have fixed – and early – start times. What’s a parent to do?
In The Sleep-Deprived Teen, Lewis explains how the problem, shares the studies that show what happens when we (all) don’t get enough sleep, describes the consequences of sleep deprivation, and then explains how parents can work to help their children, and teens specifically, get more and better sleep. If you’re not yet convinced that lack of sleep is a problem for our teenagers, this book makes the case.
One theme in Lewis’ book is understanding the growing movement to force middle and high schools to later start times. She describes how that movement started and the dramatic results in some schools when they adopted later start times.
It was just this amazing amount of positive data,” [Kyla] Wahlstrom said. “I heard teachers say, ‘The kids are now awake in the first hour.’ Counselors and nurses said that these kids were self-referring less for depression and somatic complaints. The principal said the building was calmer and there was less agitation in the hallway and in the cafeteria. And 92 percent of parents said that the kids were easier to live with.”
For parents who want to take on their school district and attempt to affect start times, this book provides both specific supporting evidence and guidance for how to begin.
But the value of this book for those of us who may not be ready, or who are unable to take on sweeping changes, is that this book provides the ammunition and strategies to tackle the problem within our own home. Lewis suggests ways we can talk to our teens about the issue and some strategies to adopt to help students get more sleep. Part III of the book, How to Help Teens Get More Sleep will help parents talk to their teens not only about why sleep matters, but how to accomplish it in this busy world.
There’s lots to like about this book. It tells a compelling story and shares the science behind the sleep issue in accessible bites that demonstrate how getting more sleep can affect almost every aspect of a teen’s life – from less risky behavior and better mental health to better grades and more competitive athletic results. We like the “Teen Sleep Takeaways” that summarize each chapter and the balance between tackling the problem at home and more broadly in the wider community..
Lewis is clearly passionate about the issue and she helps parents understand their responsibility in tackling the problem that teens may or may not recognize, but don’t understand they can control. Helping your student get better sleep is one more way to help them take control of their life.
If you have a teen, you need The Sleep-Deprived Teen by Lisa L. Lewis.
About the author:
Lisa L. Lewis is a freelance journalist who covers the intersection of parenting, public health, and education. She played a key role in California’s new healthy school start times law, the first of its kind in the nation.
Lewis has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Slate among others. She’s a parent to a teen and a recent teen who inspire much of what she writes about—everything from concussions and heat stroke to school lockdowns to teenage sleep. She lives in California.
What the author has to say about the book:
“In September 2016, the Los Angeles Times published an op-ed I’d written about why schools should start later in the morning. The op-ed not only generated enough responses for the paper to run them the following weekend, it also caught the attention of California State Senator Anthony Portantino, who had a high schooler of his own. In early 2017, he introduced a bill requiring healthy start times for California’s middle and high schools. I was quickly swept up in the legislative journey, a multi-year process that led to the first law of its kind in the country.
I toggled between my new role as an advocate and my background as a journalist, tracing the story not just to the very first high school to enact later start times, but even further back, to the initial research into teen sleep.
The more knowledge I gained, the more I was able to implement changes to help my teens with their sleep (as well as improve my own sleep).
In these pages, I’ve distilled down what I learned, culled from interviews with more than fifty researchers and other experts and from close to two hundred studies, reports, books, and other sources. I’ve organized the content into three main sections:
Part 1 provides the background and context about sleep and its increased importance during the teen years.
Part II delves into how our teens’ sleep affects so many critical aspects of their lives, including mental health, risky behaviors, school performance, sports, driving, and more.
Part III focuses on strategies and practical advice for improving your teen’s sleep.
While I was writing this book, the pandemic hit, upending life across the globe and abruptly forcing schools to pivot to online learning. Amid all of the disruption there was, for many teens, an unexpected silver lining: a chance to sleep in. Not only was their commute to school eliminated, the first class of the day was often pushed back, allowing teens to set their alarms accordingly.
It became abundantly clear schools could make the change, and could do so quickly. And it was apparent that in our new changed reality, our teens needed, more than ever, the emotional resilience sleep helps provide.
It isn’t that our teens can’t get by on too-little sleep – somehow they do it when they have to, as we all do. But there are significant repercussions. On the flip side, well-rested teens are happier and healthier and do better in school. They’re more emotionally resilient. And they’re easier to live with!
I hope this book gives you the information and the tools to help your teen attain more (and better) sleep. You may find it spurs you to reexamine your own sleep habits as well.”
What others have to say about the book:
“Lisa L. Lewis deftly reviews the science, then provides practical advice for putting those scientific insights into action. For parents and educators everywhere, this book is an urgent and timely read.”
Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of When and The Power of Regret
“The Sleep-Deprived Teen outlines a roadmap for healthier and better-slept teens through community and school advocacy. Investing in today’s teens, who are tomorrow’s leaders, truly does start with a good night’s sleep!”
Maida Lynn Chen, MD, director, Sleep Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital
“In this timely book, Lisa L. Lewis underscores why sleep is so vital for adolescent well-being and resilience and offers detailed, actionable tools for bringing about change. Grounded in science and filled with insights and inspiration, The Sleep-Deprived Teen is a call to action for parents everywhere to help their teens thrive.”
Arianna Huffington, founder & CEO of Thrive Global
“Lisa L. Lewis’ book should serve as a wake-up call to parents, lawmakers, school administrators, coaches, and teens everywhere. It’s nearly impossible to convince adolescents they need more sleep, but this book is full of persuasive facts even the most exhausted teen might heed. Don’t let your aspiring NBA players miss the chapter on sleep as a competitive advantage! The Sleep-Deprived Teen is a bright and easy read with profound implications for the health and development of teens.”
Michelle Icard, author of Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen
Related articles:
Sweet Dreams! Is Your College Student Getting Enough of Them?
Note: Some links in our post are for affiliate products. If you use our links, College Parent Central receives a small percentage of your purchase price. This does not change the cost to you. We think it’s only fair to let you know that.
