Teenagers are notoriously difficult to wake up in the mornings, and the fault doesn't lie entirely with a lack of willpower. According to the Mayo Clinic, teens naturally shift to a pattern of not becoming tired until 11 PM or later as they leave childhood, a natural pattern that doesn't mesh well with early school start times. Ultimately, getting your teenager to wake up in the morning only works if he is getting enough sleep overall, so you might need to completely overhaul his sleep schedule to start getting him up on time.
Step 1
Send your teen to bed earlier. Difficulty waking up can often be traced to a lack of sleep, so insisting that your teen gets at least 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night can help make waking him up in the morning much easier.
Step 2
Open the curtains to let morning sunlight into the room. Exposure to sunlight in the morning not only helps your teen's biological clock recognize that it is time to wake up, it also helps set it for the entire day and helps him go to sleep earlier that night.
Step 3
Place an annoying alarm clock across the room so your teen needs to get up to go turn it off. Use a clock that lets you change the alarm sound and use a different sound each week so your teen doesn't get used to the noise and sleep through it. Another option is to use a bright light alarm clock that emits light at natural wavelengths each morning.
Step 4
Maintain your teen's sleep routine on the weekends. While it is fine to allow one or two hours of extra morning sleep on the weekend, letting your teen sleep in too long can disrupt his sleep patterns and make Monday morning more of a struggle.
Step 5
Encourage regular exercise during the week, but limit your teen's activity two to three hours before bed. When your teen gets 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity at least four times a week, he will sleep better and feel more rested. As a result, he will be able to wake up better in the morning.
Step 6
Give your teenager rewards and consequences for getting up on time each morning. For example, if your teenager wants to go to an event on the weekend, let him know that you will allow him to go as long as you don't have to spend time each morning fighting him to make him get up for school.
Things You'll Need
- Annoying alarm clock
