Giving parents the tools (without the guilt) to support a teenager's sleep

It’s nearly midnight on a school night. Your teenager’s light is still on. Maybe they’re finishing homework, scrolling through social media, or texting friends.

You know they need rest, but getting them to put the phone down and go to sleep feels like an impossible task. Sound familiar?

For many families, sleep becomes one of the first battlegrounds of adolescence. Parents feel caught between enforcing rules and respecting their teen’s growing independence.

Meanwhile, teenagers are navigating a perfect storm of biological changes, social pressures and academic demands while trying to figure out healthy habits on their own.

As researchers and parents ourselves, we wanted to understand: How does the family environment shape teens’ sleep? And what can parents do to help, without the guilt or power struggles?

How can we best support teen sleep?

We’ve known for years that sleep is crucial during adolescence. Poor sleep affects everything from academic performance to emotional wellbeing, with up to 70 per cent of teenagers experiencing some form of sleep difficulty.

The stage of early adolescence is a particularly vulnerable time, which ranges from 10 to 13. It’s a time of enormous physical and neurological change, when bodies and brains are rapidly developing and hormones are shifting.

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Research has consistently shown that the family environment plays a crucial role in shaping adolescent outcomes, from academic achievement and mental health to social relationships and overall wellbeing. This is also true for teen sleep.

Previous studies suggest that aspects of parenting – like warmth, monitoring, family conflict and parental mental health – are all linked to how well teens sleep. But this research is limited by examining teen sleep and parenting at the same moment in time, often relying on self-reported surveys.

We still don’t know how these relationships play out over years, or which factors might actually be changeable.

Even more importantly, we haven’t understood how family dynamics translate into sleep problems.

Do other factors – like a teenager’s ability to manage their emotions, or their time spent on electronic devices – act as bridges between family life and sleep? And do boys and girls respond differently to the same family environments?

How family environment impacts teen sleep

To answer these questions, our team at the University of Melbourne and Monash University took a different approach.

We analysed data from over 3,400 young adolescents participating in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study in the United States – one of the largest long-term studies of adolescent brain development ever conducted.

We followed them from ages 9-11 through to ages 13-14, tracking how the early family environment impacted teen sleep patterns four years later.

Rather than relying solely on self-reports, we used actigraphy via Fitbit devices to objectively measure sleep patterns, while also gathering detailed surveys from both parents and teenagers at multiple time points.

We also examined two other factors – teenagers’ ability to regulate their emotions and their screen use (measured at ages 12-13).

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Parental influence on adolescent sleep

We found that the family environment matters even more than many parents realise.

Young people who experienced higher levels of family conflict (including arguing, tension and negative interactions at home) or whose parents struggled with their own mental health were more likely to develop sleep problems as they moved into adolescence.

These difficulties showed up as poorer sleep quality, ‘night owl’ patterns, and delayed sleep timing.

But there’s an equally important flip side.

Parental warmth and monitoring – checking in regularly, setting clear boundaries, and maintaining open communication – were associated with better quality sleep or earlier sleep tendency, often described as a ‘morning bird’ pattern.

This wasn’t about surveillance or strict enforcement, but the kind of engaged, supportive parenting that helps teenagers feel secure while learning to manage their own schedules.

Interestingly, girls seemed especially responsive to parental warmth.

Having a warm, supportive relationship with parents was strongly linked to healthier sleep timing, which suggests that the emotional quality of family relationships may matter even more for girls navigating adolescence.

But the story doesn’t end there. Our findings suggest that emotion regulation and screen use act as pathways linking the family environment to sleep.

In supportive families, teens were better able to manage stress and less likely to use screens late at night to cope with difficult feelings. In more conflicted homes, teens turned to their devices more often, which made sleep even harder to come by.

This finding challenges the common narrative that screens are simply an enemy of sleep. Instead, excessive evening screen use often appears to be a symptom of deeper challenges.

So simply banning devices or enforcing strict screen time rules may miss the point entirely. If we don’t address the underlying emotional struggles or family dynamics, teenagers may simply find other ways to avoid sleep.

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What these results mean for families

These findings carry an important message for parents: you have more influence than you might think, but not in the ways we’ve traditionally focused on.

The family environment you create shapes not just your teenager’s immediate wellbeing, but their developing ability to sleep well.

Creating warmth without smothering: Warm parenting means your teenager knows you’re available, interested in their life and on their side. Regular check-ins, genuine interest and physical affection all matter.

Addressing family stress: If your household is dealing with ongoing conflict or if you’re struggling with your own mental health, addressing these challenges isn’t just good for you – it’s an investment in your teenager’s wellbeing.

This might mean family counselling, parenting support, or treatment for your own stress or anxiety.

Building emotion regulation together: Help your teenager develop a toolkit for managing stress beyond distraction.

This could include physical activity, creative expression, mindfulness or simply talking things through. And it’s important to model these strategies yourself.

Reframing the screen conversation: Rather than seeing screens as the enemy, consider them as a window into your teen’s emotional world.

If your teenager is glued to their device late at night, it’s worth asking why.

Are they stressed about school? Struggling with difficult feelings? Addressing the underlying need may be more effective than simply removing the device.

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Looking forward

Our study joins growing evidence that adolescent sleep health is fundamentally about relationships and the overall family environment, not just behaviour modification.

For parents navigating these challenges: be kind to yourself.

Creating a warm, supportive home environment while managing your own stress isn’t always easy. But every step you take toward building stronger relationships and helping your teenager manage their emotions is an investment in their sleep and their future wellbeing.