Dear Dr. Wes and Ben: I remember a column a long time ago about sleep and how you emphasized how much more teens need than they get. However, since my son has gone into junior high he doesn’t sleep well. This is more than just staying up too late; he genuinely can’t get to or stay asleep. Do you have any tips to help him?

Ben: I’m no sleep expert, but I’ve had trouble getting to sleep plenty of times throughout my life. Here are a few things I’ve picked up:

Follow a consistent pre-bedtime routine. It’s a good way to let your body know that it’s going to be shutting down soon. For example, I always do some reading before I go to bed, and I find I have a hard time sleeping if I skip that step. A consistent bedtime, however childish that may sound, will help this also.

Your son might try listening to something while he’s in bed. My dad works a night shift and uses a sound machine, and I listen to audio books. You might also try soothing music.

When you’ve been lying in bed without sleep for a while, it may be best to get up and not go back till you’re good and tired. This will keep your body from getting accustomed to lying awake in bed and more used to sleeping there. Sleep is an individual thing. The key to getting good sleep is finding what works best for you.

Wes: Few things affect general mental health more than sleep. Poor sleep can cause or make worse just about every psychological problem children, teens and adults face. Ben hit the high points for maintaining “good sleep hygiene,” as we say in the biz, so I’ll suggest one other intervention before hitting the big guns.

Teenagers won’t like me saying this, but a major cause for poor sleep is too much stimulation in the hour leading up to bedtime. This includes anything exciting — video games, Facebook, suspenseful movies, an emotional text exchange, even homework can overdrive your son before he hits the sack. In fact, it’s really best if the bedroom is just a bedroom, free from distractions electronic or otherwise. When those of us over 35 were kids, this was taken as gospel. Now we seem to think a well-outfitted bedroom should look like mission control.

If you’ve covered all the issues we’ve already noted and your son is still struggling, you need to determine whether he has a sleep disorder. This could range from sleep apnea to an anxiety disorder to primary insomnia and several points in between.

There’s an excellent sleep clinic in Lawrence that can diagnose specific sleep problems. That might be a good start. You could also take your son to a couple of sessions with a therapist experienced in working with teenage sleep problems. It won’t be a deep or scary discussion. Just an evaluation to figure out what gets in the way of sleep and how to get around that.

Stick with your gut concern on this and work to correct it. The worst thing about sleep problems is that they are self-perpetuating. The worse you sleep the more out of rhythm you become, then the worse you sleep, and so on.

Next week: Facebook: Great social tool or out-of-control obsession?