My Teenager Sleeps All Day or Stays Up All Night. Is It Normal?

By The Synapse Team · Published 6 November 2026

In brief

• Teenagers’ body clocks shift later, so going to bed late and struggling to get up is partly biology, not laziness.
• It is worth acting when sleep has turned upside down for weeks, or comes with low mood, missed school or pulling away from friends.
• Rows at bedtime rarely help. Small, steady changes to mornings and phones usually work better.
• If you are not sure what is going on, Message Mollie. It costs nothing and might be helpful.

It’s 2am and the light under their door is still on. At midday on Saturday they are still asleep. Getting them up for school has become a daily battle. It is easy to blame the phone, or laziness, and just as easy to worry that something else is going on.

Why teenagers’ sleep changes

In adolescence the body clock shifts: bedtime and wake time typically move about two hours later (Oxford Health NHS). School still starts at the same time, so many teenagers run short of sleep in the week and catch up at the weekend. The NHS says most teenagers need 8 to 10 hours’ sleep a night. Phones, gaming and worry can push bedtime later still.

When it is probably part of growing up

• They go to bed late and sleep in at weekends, but still get up for school most days.
• They seem like themselves once they have caught up on sleep.
• It eases in the holidays, or when the pressure drops.

When it is worth getting help

• Their sleep has turned upside down for a few weeks: awake most of the night, asleep most of the day.
• They are missing school, college or work because they cannot get up.
• It comes with low mood, worry, irritability or changes in eating.
• They are spending most of the day in their room and seeing less of friends.
• They seem exhausted even after long sleeps.

Your GP is a good first stop if you are worried about their physical health or the sleep problems are severe. If they rarely leave their room, read My teenager won’t leave their bedroom.

If your child talks about not wanting to be alive or about harming themselves, speak to your GP straight away or call NHS 111. In an emergency, call 999. See our urgent support page.

What you can try this week

• Start with mornings, not bedtimes. A regular wake-up time, kept close to it at weekends too, is often easier to change than an early bedtime they will not keep.
• Agree where the phone sleeps. Charging it outside the bedroom is a family rule worth trying, and it works best if the adults do it too.
• Let the daylight in. Opening the curtains and getting outside in the morning helps reset the body clock.
• Wind the evening down. Less gaming late at night, and save the big conversations for earlier in the day.
• Pick your moment. A row at 11pm rarely changes anything.

How a Coach helps

Coaching works on routines a young person actually wants to keep. Their Coach helps them see why sleep matters to them, agree small changes, such as a set wake-up time or where the phone goes at night, and talk through how each week went. Changes young people choose for themselves tend to last longer than rules set for them. Your child keeps the same Coach from start to finish.

“My sleep has improved a lot, which has left me with more energy for the day.” Synapse Client*

*Shared with permission. Details have been changed to protect privacy.

If low energy has turned into low motivation, read My teenager has lost all motivation. Is it normal? Not sure whether it is time to get help? Read Does my teenager need professional help?

Support from Synapse

Synapse provides clinically supervised behavioural health coaching for young people aged 11 to 25. Every programme begins with a clinical assessment. Read who we support and how Coaching works. The first conversation with Mollie is at no charge, with no commitment.

Message Mollie