If you’re a parent of a teen, chances are you’ve had one of those mornings, or afternoons, where you’re wondering if your child is ever going to emerge from their room. You may be thinking, is it normal for your teen to sleep all day in summer? Well, according to the experts…sort of. 

“During the school term many teens become chronically sleep deprived and will want to use their school break to catch up on sleep,” sleep psychologist Dr. Nicola Cann said in a recent interview SheKnows.com. “Teens are also naturally late sleepers, so they are biologically predisposed to wake up later than their parents.”

In other words, it’s not just about Netflix binges and TikTok scrolling, although those don’t help. Dr. Rebecca Robbins, sleep scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, breaks it down further. “There are two notable changes to teenager sleep that happen around puberty,” she told the outlet. “Teenagers need as much — if not more — sleep than they did in middle school. Second, there is a delay in the secretion of melatonin in the teenage brain,” which explains those 2 a.m. “Why can’t I sleep?” complaints.

So yes, summer may be a teen’s golden ticket to follow their natural rhythm, but sleeping the day away forever isn’t ideal either. If your child is still clocking 12+ hours of sleep long after school’s out, it might be time to check in.

“If your teen continues to sleep all day, even after they’ve had a chance to catch up on sleep, then it’s worth investigating further,” Dr. Cann noted, mentioning conditions like insomnia or circadian rhythm disorders.

Still, the summer months are a great time to build healthier habits without the early morning school chaos. Both experts suggest working with your teen, not against them.

“Parents could work with their teenager to develop a healthy sleep routine,” said Dr. Robbins, emphasizing consistency and screen-free wind-down time. Dr. Cann agreed, “Showing them that you understand and want to help will lead to a less confrontational, and more collaborative, conversation.”

And when it comes to resetting the sleep schedule for school? Do it gradually, like, 15 minutes earlier every couple of days.

Most importantly, let’s stop calling our teens lazy. As Dr. Cann reminds us, “Your teen could be chronically sleep deprived,” and that “laziness” may just be exhaustion. Dr. Robbins added, “Sleep is vitally important for proper growth and development during the teenage years.”

Parents, go easy on your teens and know that sleeping in is just part of growing up.