Why Teens Need Their Sleep

Holidays for teens usually mean one thing ... lots and lots of SLEEP!! But why the heck are teens so tired all the time?

One of the most significant changes linked to brain development that occurs during the teenage years, is related to sleep pattern alterations. Sleep patterns change during adolescence because the brain’s circadian system (biological clock) changes.

This change occurs as a result of a complex dynamic interaction between genetically determined brain development and the impact of the environment on that development. During the teen years the usual childhood pattern of get up early and go to bed early (the so called “lark” pattern) changes to a go to bed late and get up late (the so called “owl”) pattern. This natural change in circadian rhythm is accentuated by the teenager’s environment. Teens are often awash in bright lights late at night, electronic and social stimulation that keep them active into the wee hours, and weekend gatherings that push well into early morning. These factors all converge to set a new go-to-sleep-late and wake-up-late cycle.

Because teenagers stay up much later than younger children do, yet are still forced to wake up early on school days, their total sleep time is shorter (sometimes much shorter) on school days than on weekends, and this disrupts the rhythm of sleep. Teens need about 9 to 9 ½ hours of sleep every night, more than pre-teens need. But because they don’t get anywhere near this amount during the week, many teenagers try to catch up on lost sleep by sleeping in on weekends, which typically annoys their parents. It is important to remember that teenagers do not sleep late on weekends because they are lazy or antisocial, but because they are sleep deprived. They have created a huge sleep debt during the week and are paying it off on the weekend.

During the week many teens are actually sleep deprived. But what does that mean? Sleep deprivation in adolescents can negatively affect the control of behavior, emotion and attention, and is a significant impediment to learning, attainment of social competence and quality of life. Not getting enough sleep can also affect a teenager’s performance in school and other activities that require concentration and focus. Because school schedules are not based on the sleep/wake patterns of teenagers, many students in early morning classes report being less alert, more weary, and having to expend greater effort to pay attention. Reaction times and performance of adolescents are much better in the afternoon than in the morning. With all this sleep deprivation no wonder teens are late for class, sleepy at school, reluctant to be involved in extracurricular activities and cranky. And no wonder many parents find their teenagers to be a royal pain in the mornings!

Decreasing the amount of stimulating activities late at night (TV, phone, internet) is one way to recover lost sleep hours. Unfortunately, many of the social developments that might help correct the problem of adolescent sleep deprivation involve big social policy changes. These include restructuring school curriculums and policy, such as starting school later and ending school later (some school districts have tried this), and creating a broader awareness of the sleep deprivation problem among parents, teachers and physicians.

~ Dr. Stan Kutcher