Your Teenager Can't Sleep. It's Not Just the Phone.

Your teenager isn't lying awake because of their phone.

I know. Everyone's been told it's the phone. Confiscate it, charge it in the kitchen, problem solved. Except it isn't. If your teenager can't sleep, the reason runs deeper than a screen.

What the research says about teen insomnia

The Black Dog Institute's Future Proofing Study has followed the same 6,388 Australian teenagers since 2019. Thirty-eight per cent report insomnia that sticks around or gets worse between Year 8 and Year 11. Eleven per cent hit clinical levels, and those kids are six times more likely to report high depressive symptoms.

They looked at screen time too. On any given day, more screen time lined up with more symptoms. But when they tracked the same kids across four years, that link fell apart.

So if it's not the phone, what is it?

Why teenagers can't fall asleep: it's the body

Teenage bodies are built to fall asleep later. Their internal clock shifts in adolescence and melatonin turns up later in the evening than it used to.

Now stack that on a day of sitting still, school pressure, friendship stuff, and the constant low hum of being watched and judged. By bedtime their nervous system is still on high alert. Heart up. Jaw tight. Thoughts on repeat. The lights go off and the body doesn't get the memo.

You can't think your way to sleep. Adults can't either. Sleep is what happens when the body finally feels safe enough to let go.

So give it somewhere to go.

How boxing helps teenagers sleep

Forty minutes on the pads does two things.

It properly uses their body, which builds the kind of tired that actually leads to sleep. And it gives all that stored-up stress an exit. Every punch is something that isn't sitting in their chest at 11pm.

Our teen sessions are non-contact. Nobody is getting hit. This is pad work, footwork and effort, in a small group with a coach who knows every kid's name.

Why every session ends with downregulation

I'm not sending your kid home buzzing. Hard work on its own can leave them more wired, not less.

So the last eight minutes of every teen session are the quietest part of the night. Long slow exhales. Stillness. Attention back in the body. We're teaching their nervous system the way down, deliberately, until it knows the route without being told.

Twice a week, that practice adds up. Shifting gears becomes something their body knows how to do. And that's exactly the skill a racing mind at bedtime is missing.

What boxing can't do

I can't fix your teenager's sleep. If persistent insomnia is worrying you, start with a GP. What I can do is hand them back to you landed, not running at full tilt.

Teen boxing in Geelong

Geelong Boxing Club runs small group, non contact boxing for teenagers in North Geelong, built around nervous system regulation rather than performance. Teen boys train Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Teen Girls Boxing, for girls 12 to 16, runs Thursdays in November from 5:15 to 6:00pm.

Frequently asked questions

Is screen time the main cause of teen insomnia?
Not on its own. Long-term Australian research found screen time was linked to symptoms at a single point in time, but the link didn't hold when the same teenagers were followed over four years. Body clock changes and nervous system stress play a big part.

Does exercise help teenagers sleep better?
Regular physical activity builds natural sleep pressure and gives stress somewhere to go. Pairing effort with a deliberate wind-down at the end helps the nervous system shift out of high alert.

Is boxing safe for teenagers?
Our teen programs are non-contact. There's no sparring. Sessions are pad work and fitness in small groups, with structured downregulation at the end.