Sleep The ABCs of Getting YOUR ZZZs
PATTERNS, CHANGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS By Katherine Finn Davis, PhD, RN, CPNP
re teenagers sleep-deprived? It seems so, given the high demands on any teen living in our 24/7 world with so much going on — school, work, sports, af- ter-school programs and social activities. Not to mention ever-present distractions such as TV, phones and video games.
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Sleep Patterns During Adolescence
Adolescents often begin their teenage years with the characteristic sleep-like-a- log tendencies of middle childhood. That is to say, they fall asleep quickly and stay asleep until it’s time to wake up, often not needing an alarm clock.
As teens move into middle and late adolescence, they have a biologic shift in their sleep cycle due to puberty and hormonal factors, so that they have a natu- ral tendency to push both bed and wake times later. As a result, their time spent in deep sleep shortens and their total time asleep averages about seven hours. But teens need about eight-and-a half to nine- and-a-half hours of sleep each night. That means a teen is racking up a sleep debt of about one to two hours per night! This
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debt interferes with her ability to be at her best during school and her activities. Teens often try to sleep later in the morn- ing during days off, but often don’t have the chance to truly catch up. If you’re con- cerned about whether your teen is getting adequate quality sleep, read on for expert answers to questions from other parents who may share your concerns.
Is my teen getting enough sleep? Probably not. Reports show that only about ten percent of teens are getting the recommended amount of sleep. Worse still, the sleep shortage seems to increase as teens get older. This may be due to increasing demands on their time and the increased use of technology.
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This often chronic lack of sleep can lead to problems with mood (bad temper, anger, depression), ability to pay attention and concentrate, memory skills, school tasks, drug use (caffeine, stimulants) and behavior (acting out, risk taking, decreased physical activity). About 25
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How does not getting enough sleep affect my teen?
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