Why Teens Need Their

Sleep

Sleep is very important during periods of brain maturation!

During adolescence, daytime sleepiness

INCREASES

During adolescence, daytime sleepiness

INCREASES

even if the total amount of nighttime sleep is held

constant. (Dahl et al., 2002)

This means that although many teenagers get less sleep than younger children, there is actually an

increase in sleep needs during the teenage years!

So how much sleep do teens

NEED?

Adolescents need about 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night, and a

lot of them don’t get even

close to that much.

This can be problematic, because adequate sleep is essential for learning and memory.

Ok, but what exactly makes teens so sleepy???

Ok, but what exactly makes teens so sleepy???

Sleep patterns change during adolescence because the brain’s circadian system (biological clock) shifts.

Ok, but what exactly makes teens so sleepy???

This shift results in a delay in the sleep/wake cycle

(teenagers stay up late, and want to sleep in late).

Hansen et al. (2005)

During the summer, teens tend to get the same amount of sleep on weekends and weekdays.

Hansen et al. (2005)

But during the school year, teens get much less sleep on school days, and they compensate for this on

weekends!

During the summer, teens tend to get the same amount of sleep on weekends and weekdays.

(Dahl et al., 2002)

The circadian system adjusts slowly to changes, so the rapid changes in sleep

patterns between school and non-school days are particularly problematic!

Teenagers are biologically programmed to go to sleep late and wake up late, but because school schedules are

not based on the sleep/wake patterns of teenagers, waking up late on school days is not an option!

Teenagers stay up much later than younger children do, but are still forced to wake up early on school days.

So, total sleep time is shorter (sometimes much shorter) on school days than on weekends, and this disrupts the rhythm of sleep.

Summer

Hansen et al. (2005)

The JET-LAGGED teen?!On average, teenagers sleep about 2 hours

more per night on weekends than on weekdays.

The JET-LAGGED teen?!This is equivalent to TWO time zones!

AND… they do this every week!

What impact do you think all this sleep deprivation

has on students??

Hansen et al. (2005)

Studies show that…

The reaction times of adolescents are much better in the afternoon than they are in the morning (lower means better)!

Hansen et al. (2005)

Studies show that…

The reaction times of adolescents are much better in the afternoon than they are in the morning (lower means better)!

And that students perform better in the afternoon than in the morning.

Students in early morning classes report being less alert, more weary, and having

to expend greater effort.

So, scheduling all of the important tests

first thing in the morning doesn’t make much sense!

Percentage of students who feel “really sleepy” at different

times of day

Gibson et al. (2006)

In one survey of Canadian high school students:

70% reported getting less than 8.5 hrs of sleep per night.

58-68% reported being “really sleepy” between 8 and 10 a.m.

Teenagers need more sleep than adults, so many

teenagers are chronically sleep deprived.

No wonder they are late for school, sleepy at school, reluctant to be involved in extracurricular activities and cranky!

Does this have a

negative impact on adolescent life???

Does this have a

negative impact on adolescent life???

YOU BETCHA!!

Sleep deprivation has negative effects on the control of behavior, emotion and attention, and is a significant impediment to learning, attainment of social competence and quality of life.

Teenagers show dramatically elevated levels of daytime sleepiness (compared to adults).

In many cases, the level of sleepiness in adolescents are

near the threshold seen in sleep disorders like narcolepsy and sleep apnea!

(Dahl et al., 2002)

So what can we do?

There are a few easy first steps, which include:

- Increasing teenagers sleep hours by decreasing the amount of stimulating activities late at night (TV, phone, internet).

- Creating a broader awareness of the problem among parents, teachers and physicians.

(Dahl et al., 2002; Hansen et al., 2005)

So what can we do?

Unfortunately, many of the things that might help correct the

problem involve BIG social policy changes:

• Changing school curriculum and policy

• Stopping early start times in high schools (some school districts have already done this!)

References

Dahl, R.E., Lewin, D.S. 2002. Pathways to adolescent health: Sleep regulation and behavior. Journal of adolescent health. 31: 175-184.

Gibson, E.S., Powles, A.C.P., Thabane, L., O’Brien, S., Molnar, D.S., Trajanovic, N., Ogilvie, R., Shapiro, C., Yan, M., Chilcott-Tanser, L. 2006. “Sleepiness” is serious in adolescence: Two surveys of 3235 Canadian students. BMC Public Health. 6: 116-124.

Hansen, M., Janssen, I., Schiff, A., Zee, P.C., Dubocovich, M.L. 2005. The impact of school daily schedule on adolescent sleep. Pediatrics. 115: 1555-1561.

Sun Life Financial ChairIn Adolescent Mental Health

For more information visit

WWW.TEENMENTALHEALTH.ORG