Sleep

Summary

Ask the Mediatrician Podcast: Episode on Sleep
December 3, 2019
Host: Dr. Michael Rich (“The Mediatrician”)
Guest: Kristelle Lavallee, Mediatrics Educator

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on a central question facing many modern parents: How can caregivers support healthy sleep habits in their teens amidst pervasive digital media and device usage? Dr. Michael Rich and Kristelle Lavallee discuss the impact of smartphones on adolescent sleep, the biology behind sleep disruption, and practical strategies to help families create healthier boundaries around bedtime technology use.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Question from a Parent [01:40]

• Submitted by Cecilia, a mother from Saskatoon, Canada
  • Concern: Her 15-year-old daughter is falling asleep in class.
  • Asks for advice on how to help ensure her daughter gets enough sleep.

2. The Impact of Smartphones on Sleep [02:02]

• Dr. Rich explains that many teens keep their phones close at night—under their pillows, on the bedside table, often on vibrate.
• Key Issues:
  • Teens are texting late into the night.
  • They wait for notifications, even at 3 a.m., due to fear of missing out.
  • Exposure to phone screens’ blue light disrupts melatonin production.

Quote [02:02] — Dr. Rich:
“What I'm finding is that many kids ... are sleeping with their cell phones either under their pillows or on their bedside stand on the vibrate mode. And what happens is that they invariably are texting late into the night. ... They're staring into that blue light of their cell phone which suppresses melatonin secretion.”

3. Understanding Blue Light & Melatonin [03:02]

• Blue light from screens mimics early morning sunlight.
• This tricks the brain into thinking it’s daytime, reducing the body’s production of melatonin, a hormone critical for sleep.

Quote [03:06] — Dr. Rich:
“And that blue light is the equivalent of early morning light ... activates us, arouses us, and gets us ready to live.”

Quote [03:27] — Dr. Rich:
“...when it gets dark is we start to secrete melatonin, the hormone that helps us sleep. So she is arousing herself right when she should be letting herself sleep.”

4. The Role of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) [03:59]

• Beyond blue light, there’s intense social pressure to respond quickly to texts, even late at night.
• The need to be immediately available is both FOMO and “fear of losing relationships,” causing anxiety about missing out or damaging friendships.

Quote [04:02] — Dr. Rich:
“Fear of missing out? Yeah, but it's also fear of losing relationships. ... if someone doesn't respond within a certain amount of time ... that means something about the importance of this relationship.”

5. The Impact of Poor Sleep on Learning [04:24]

• Inadequate sleep disrupts the natural REM cycles required to consolidate learning from short-term to long-term memory.
• Without enough REM cycles, teens can’t effectively retain what they learned the day before, even if they appear awake in class.

Quote [04:24] — Dr. Rich:
“She's not getting into the deep REM sleep, ... which you have to get into four cycles of and get into the fourth cycle of to move what she's experienced today from her short term memory into her learning centers.”

Quote [05:02] — Dr. Rich:
“...she may be missing out on stuff because she's not paying enough attention, perhaps because she is sleepy, but also because she's not consolidating that information overnight.”

6. Practical Solutions for Families [05:32]

A. Move the Phone Out of the Bedroom

• Dr. Rich suggests charging phones outside the bedroom (kitchen, parent’s room) overnight.
• Create house rules around device use, such as no texting past 8 p.m.

B. Empowering Teens with Boundaries

• Parents can encourage their teens to tell friends they’re unavailable because of “strict family rules,” taking pressure off the teen to be constantly connected.

Quote [06:47] — Dr. Rich:
“...feel free to tell her daughter to call her the most strict awful mom in the world. ... Let her daughter throw her under the bus with her friends because that takes her friend off the hook.”

Quote [07:13] — Dr. Rich:
“...when kids do that, ... they feel liberated. They feel like they are off the hook.”

C. Use an Old-School Alarm Clock [07:41]

• Many teens justify keeping their phone next to the bed as an alarm.
• Dr. Rich and Kristelle recommend substituting with an inexpensive traditional alarm clock.

Quote [07:51] — Dr. Rich:
“In fact, when I ask the kids why they have that phone on their bedside stand, they say it's their alarm clock.”

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• Parental Empowerment and “Batching Communication”
  “You can batch your communication with your friends. You can say, okay, you can text me up until 8 o'clock at night, for example. And then I've got to go offline.” — Dr. Rich [06:09]

• Permission to Parent Without Guilt
  “Let her daughter throw her under the bus ... because that takes her ... off the hook with her friends to be able to say, 'I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about it.'” — Dr. Rich [06:47]

• The Power Button Reminder
  “Perhaps the most important feature on many of these devices is the power button. I encourage you to push it early and often.” — Dr. Rich [08:43]

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Key Timestamps

• 01:40 — Introduction of listener question about teen sleep
• 02:02 — Discussion of teens’ phones at night and sleep disruption
• 03:02–03:27 — How blue light from screens affects melatonin and sleep cycles
• 03:59–04:24 — FOMO, social expectations, and emotional impact
• 04:24–05:32 — How poor sleep affects memory and learning
• 05:32–07:13 — Recommendations: device rules, family strategies, and parent empowerment
• 07:41–08:07 — Why alarm clocks matter and how to introduce the change

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Final Thoughts

Dr. Michael Rich and Kristelle Lavallee emphasize that setting boundaries around nighttime device use is essential for adolescents’ sleep health, learning, and emotional wellbeing. They encourage parents to assert their role as guardians—not just of rules, but of their children’s long-term health and happiness in a media-dense world.

For further resources and to submit a question, visit:
askthemediatrician.org
Or follow Dr. Rich on Twitter: @Mediatrician

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Remember:
“Perhaps the most important feature on many of these devices is the power button. I encourage you to push it early and often.”
— Dr. Michael Rich [08:43]

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hey, it's Dr. Michael Rich, the mediatrician. I'm a practicing pediatrician, a child health researcher, and a lifelong filmmaker who understands how powerfully screens engage and change us. As a doctor who sees kids every day, I see their struggles with the screens that are everywhere, from in their pockets to surrounding them on the walls with televisions and through their schools with computers. And I see the concern that parents have for how the media kids use and how they use them may be affecting their physical, mental and social health. So I try to bring these two worlds together to help us all understand and respond to how to raise healthy, happy and productive kids in a world filled with digital screens. Mediatrics educator Christelle Lavallee joins me here each week to help us answer your questions.

[C]

Yes, I do. Thanks, Michael. So this next question is actually coming to us from a neighbor in the north. This is from Cecilia. She's a mom in Saskatoon, Canada, and she writes, I have a bright and beautiful 15 year old daughter in high school. Last week one of her teachers told me that she's been falling asleep in class. How can I help her here at home to make sure she gets enough sleep?

[B]

Well, Cecilia, I think the first question you should ask is where is your daughter's cell phone at night? What I'm finding is that many kids who come in to me with the complaint of sleepiness, daytime sleepiness, or taking a nap immediately upon return from school are sleeping with their cell phones either under their pillows or on their bedside stand on the vibrate mode. And what happens is that they invariably are texting late into the night. And not only that, but they are waiting for that all important LOL text to come in at 3 in the morning. So several things are happening here. One is that they're not getting as much sleep, not just because they're up actively texting, but when they're actively texting, they're staring into that blue light of their cell phone which suppresses melatonin secretion.

[C]

Wait, Michael, the blue light from the phone, is that just the light that's coming off the screen?

[B]

Off the screen exactly. And that blue light is the equivalent of early morning light, which is because we are diurnal animals that hunt during the day and sleep during the night activates us, arouses us, and gets us ready to live. The. And so.

[C]

So we think the sun is rising. When we were staring into our body,

[B]

we think the blue early morning sun is rising. And what happens when it gets dark is we start to secrete melatonin, the hormone that helps us sleep. So she is arousing herself right when she should be letting herself sleep. So even when she puts that phone down, it's gonna take her a while to go to sleep. The other thing that's interesting that is happening is because she is waiting for that phone to vibrate, she believes that she has to respond to that text in the middle of the night.

[D]

Is this fomo?

[C]

Is this FOMO that's happening here?

[B]

Fear of missing out? Yeah, but it's also fear of losing relationships. We've developed a culture where we feel that if someone doesn't respond within a certain amount of time, and usually it's a very short amount of time to our texts, that that means something about the importance of this relationship.

[C]

Yeah, I feel that way sometimes.

[E]

I get it.

[B]

Right. Why are they not answering?

[C]

Right.

[B]

And so she is waiting for that phone to vibrate so she can be a good friend. But what happens is that she's not getting into the deep REM sleep, rapid eye movement sleep, which you have to get into four cycles of and get into the fourth cycle of to move what she's experienced today from her short term memory into her learning centers. So even if she stays awake in algebra class tomorrow, she may not remember what she heard in algebra class today.

[C]

Oh, wow. So she's not retaining that because her

[B]

sleep was so poor, she's not consolidating it into the learning. And so she's not completing the cycle of learning that occurs with experience memory, and then consolidating that memory into a learning center. So even if she isn't falling asleep in class, she may be missing out on stuff because she's not paying enough attention, perhaps because she is sleepy, but also because she's not consolidating that information overnight.

[C]

So what is it that Cecilia can do to kind of move the smartphone off of the nightstand because it is her daughter's personal phone.

[B]

Who paid for the phone? I'm assuming, who pays for the account?

[C]

Okay, you make a valid point there.

[B]

And so this goes back to what we always say is treat these devices not as toys, not as our divine right to have, but as tools that do certain things very well and don't do everything very well and sometimes actually counter what we need to do. So talk to her daughter about the phone. Charge the phone in the kitchen or in mom and dad's room overnight. Keep the chargers there. So if she forgets to bring it in, then it doesn't get charged, it doesn't work. But also talk to her directly about it and say, here's how it's affecting you. And you can batch your communication with your friends. You can say, okay, you can text me up until 8 o' clock at night, for example. And then I've got to go offline.

[C]

House rules.

[B]

Absolutely. And tell Cecilia to feel free to tell her daughter to call her the most strict awful mom in the world. Right. Let her daughter throw her under the bus with her friends because that takes her friend off the hook. Takes her off the hook with her friends to be able to say, I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about it.

[C]

My mom's so mean, she won't let me have my phone.

[B]

Here's the thing that's really interesting is when kids do that, I mean, they hate the idea in the concept, but when they do it, they feel liberated.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

They feel like they are off the hook. You know, let mom take the hit for this. And their friends get used to it. They know that after eight they can't reach them and nobody's any worse for it.

[C]

I know. And my guess is that all that news that came in over the night is still going to be there in the morning.

[B]

Sure. And most of it is chatter anyway.

[C]

Yeah. Okay. So thank you so much, Cecilia. I hope that's helpful. Michael, I think you might also recommend maybe just an old school alarm clock. I know some kids.

[B]

Yeah, that's true. In fact, when I ask the kids why they have that phone on their bedside stand, they say it's their alarm clock.

[C]

I hear that too.

[B]

That's why I was wondering, as if you can't go to a big box store and spend five bucks on an old fashioned alarm clock.

[C]

Yep. So maybe kind of couch this conversation with the gift of an old fashioned alarm clock. Cecilia. And that might help the conversation go a little bit better with these new house rules. So thank you so much, Cecilia for submitting your quote. For those of you who are interested in more topics like these and the science behind them, please come and Visit us at askthemediatrician.org Remember, you can also connect with our mediatrician on Twitter Mediatrician. You can submit your own [e-mail] and thank you so much for listening. Please remember to share and subscribe to

[B]

this very podcast and enjoy your media and use them wisely during the appropriate times to use them. And remember that perhaps the most important feature on many of these devices is the power button. I encourage you to push it early and often.

[D]

Ask the Mediatrician is hosted by Dr. Michael Rich, joined by Mediatrix educator Christelle Lavallee. Jill R. Kavanagh is our Chief Knowledge Officer. Original music composed by Christopher Cerf Podcast and music recorded, mixed and edited at Saturn Sound Studios Executive Producer Alicia Haywood.

[F]

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