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Understanding sleepy teens - Health & Wellbeing
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They refuse to shut their eyes at night, but come morning it takes them hours to prise them open. Is it just laziness or is there more going on?</p> <div id="mainPic" class="centreAlign"><img src="/health/features/img/sleepyteen_m2229002.jpg" alt="sleepyteens_300x150" width="300px"><span class="imgSource"><span class="invisible"><br>[Image source: </span>iStockPhoto | monkeybusinessimages<span class="invisible">]</span></span></div> <div class="clear"> </div><p>When your infant starts sleeping through the night, chances are you think your sleep battles with your child are over.</p><p>Yet when the teenage years arrive many parents find themselves engaged in a new round of sleep battles, and this time controlled crying is not an option.</p><p>Many of us may remember arguing with our parents over sleep when we were young (or rather having to get up in the morning), but evidence suggests teens really are sleeping less these days. One recent US study found teenagers there are getting <a href="http://childrensmd.org/browse-by-age-group/sleepy-teens-new-study-says-teens-even-sleep-deprived-thought/" target="_blank">less sleep than they did 20 years ago</a>.</p><p>As for Australian teens, Dr Chris Seton, paediatric and adolescent sleep physician at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and <a href="https://www.sleepshack.com.au/" target="_blank">SleepShack</a>, estimates around 70 per cent are sleep-deprived.</p><p>Guidelines recommend high-schoolers <a href="http://sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need" target="_blank">sleep for eight to 10 hours per night</a>, however studies by the National Sleep Foundation suggest many are only <a href="http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2014/02/teen-stress.aspx" target="_blank">averaging around seven and a half hours</a>.</p><p>While this amount of sleep may be the 'norm' Seton says it's not acceptable.</p><p>"Because sleep deprivation is so common it's been normalised: parents and teachers will say 'sure this kid is sleep deprived, but all their mates are too,'" Seton says.</p><p>This level of sleep loss can affect young people's learning, mood and their ability to function throughout the day.</p><h3>When sleep isn't a priority</h3><p>Dr Sarah Blunden, a clinical psychologist, and Head of Paediatric Sleep Research at Central Queensland University as well as founding Director of the <a href="http://www.sleepeducation.net.au/" target="_blank">Australian Centre for Education in Sleep</a>, believes you would be hard-pushed to overstate the benefits of decent shut-eye.</p><p>"Sleep is the foundation of all physical and mental health essentially – that sounds very radical but it's true," Blunden says.</p><p>Many experts say our obsession with <a href="http://www.sleep-journal.com/article/S1389-9457%2810%2900163-2/abstract" target="_blank">screen-based activities is in part responsible for this</a> change, with research suggesting <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news67642.html" target="_blank">young people's use of devices – including lap tops, computers, and smart phones – is leading to later bed times and less sleep</a>.</p><p>"We know that the blue light in particular, which is given off by digital screens, can affect our sleep-wake patterns, because it suppresses melatonin," Blunden says.</p><p>Melatonin is a hormone which helps regulate and promote sleep. It's produced by the pineal gland in your brain. You produce less melatonin when you're exposed to bright light – especially blue light – and more once the sun goes down.</p><p>Handheld portable devices, such as tablets and smart-phones which we tend to hold close to our eyes are even more of an issue, due to the intensity of their light and because we can easily take them into our bedrooms.</p><p>But it's not just about light. There's also the social component of device use.</p><p>"We know that particularly for adolescents, their peers and social activities become way more important than almost anything else," Blunden says.</p><p>Seton agrees, saying that screens are a huge part of the sleep problem.</p><p>"The screens not only take away sleep because they take up time, but they make kids more wakeful, and the more wakeful they are the more activity they do, so it's a vicious cycle," he says.</p><p>"It's a really interesting psychological addiction – you have to convince them that if they disconnect socially at 10pm and go to school the next day, they won't be socially ostracised. For teenagers it's a hard sell: they don't value sleep; they value wakefulness and social connectivity."</p><p>Both say there are other teen sleep saboteurs to be aware of including homework, extra-curricular activities, part-time work and social commitments.</p><h3>Biological reasons</h3><p>But there are also biological reasons why young people struggle to get moving in the morning.</p><p>"During puberty, melatonin rises later in the evenings so sleep onset can be delayed," Blunden says.</p><p>This is why we see the common scenario of teens not being able to go to sleep at a reasonable hour and then struggling to get out of bed in the morning.</p><p>"One of the problems is that the awareness as to why this is happening is really low – that there is a physiological change in adolescents' sleep, and that it actually isn't all their fault," Blunden says.</p><p>While teens sleeping in on weekends may seem lazy to their parents, to an extent they need this chance to catch-up on sleep.</p><p>Stress and anxiety can prevent teens from dozing off at night, and this effect can be compounded when they begin worrying about the fact they're not sleeping, contributing to the cycle.</p><p>Seton says that from clinical practice, the majority are simply not getting enough sleep, though around 20 per cent of the sleep-deprived teenagers are suffering from <a href="https://www.sleepassociation.org/patients-general-public/delayed-sleep-phase-syndrome/" target="_blank">Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder or Syndrome</a>. This means their circadian rhythm, or natural 'body clock' runs closer to 25 or 27 hours, causing them to struggle to sleep until very late at night or even the early hours of the morning.</p><p>In 2014, researchers <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/49776656_Recent_worldwide_sleep_patterns_and_problems_during_adolescence_A_review_and_meta-analysis_of_age_region_and_sleep" target="_blank">reviewing world-wide studies on sleep patterns</a> suggested the prevalence and impact of Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder during adolescence may be underrated.</p><div class="box moreInfo"><div><h3>Why sleep-deprivation is a problem</h3><p>Aside from the being sleepy there are range of other ways insufficient sleep affects teenagers, these include <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsr.12096/abstract" target="_blank">increased likelihood of colds, flu and gastroenteritis</a>.</p><p>Blunden also lists increased likelihood of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance problems, glucose metabolism problems, and increased risk of car accidents as some of the physical health effects, along with irritability, aggression, depression and anxiety, and as a risk factor for <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2572740/" target="_blank">substance abuse</a> later in life.</p><p>"When it comes to psychosocial behaviour: people who don't sleep are also more likely to have social problems, the list goes on and on – it's pervasive and attacks everything, and that's because if we don't get enough sleep, our immune systems, our body functions don't do well, [and] our brain can't regulate how we feel, how we behave and how we learn," she says.</p></div></div><h3>If that's not enough to scare you to sleep, try...</h3><p>Blunden and Seton say we should all be turning off our screens 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime.</p><p>As well they recommend:</p><ul><li>Turning off mobile phones overnight or limiting the hours teens are texting, since the anticipation of a response from texting can encourage them to stay awake longer. They don't encourage vilifying technology, instead encourage them to find a balance. It's fine to be socially connected – just not at 3am.</li><li>Blunden says large variability between waking times on weekends and during the week can have a strong negative impact on mood. She favours encouraging a 20 minute nap later in the day rather than a sleep-in on the weekend.</li><li>Reduce sugary, spicy and caffeinated food and drink several hours before bed.</li><li>Implement a relaxing pre-bed routine, which might involve deep breathing or quiet time.</li><li>Try to finish eating several hours before going to bed.</li></ul><p class="date">Published 21/05/2015</p> <div class="hr"> <hr> </div> <div class="box moreInfo"> <div><a name="moreInfo"></a><h3 id="moreInfo">More info</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2015/03/03/4190500.htm">Is your sleep-tracking app keeping you awake at night? - ABC Health & Wellbeing</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2015/01/28/4169022.htm">Social jet lag behind back-to-work and school grind - ABC Health & Wellbeing</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2014/10/08/4102767.htm">Five sleep myths busted - ABC Health & Wellbeing</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="clear"> </div> <div id="artShareLinks"> <p class="right"><a href="/cgi-bin/common/mailto/mailto-nojs_query.pl?https://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2015/05/21/4239985.htm?" class="email friend">email a friend</a> <a href="/health/contact/" class="email editor" title="Contact ABC Health & Wellbeing">email ABC Health & Wellbeing</a></p> <ul id="artShareTabs" class="tabClick"> <li><a class="selected" href="#artBookmarks" rel="artBookmarks">Share this article</a></li> </ul> <div id="artBookmarks" class="tabContent" style="display: block;"> <!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <div class="addthis_sharing_toolbox"></div> <!-- <div class="addthis_native_toolbox"></div> --> <script type="text/javascript" src="//s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=ra-5032c80c0c5f2c20" async="async"></script> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <!-- Place this snippet wherever appropriate --> <script type="text/javascript"> (function() { var li = document.createElement('script'); li.type = 'text/javascript'; li.async = true; li.src = window.location.protocol + '//platform.stumbleupon.com/1/widgets.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(li, s); })(); </script> <!--end:artShareLinks --> </div> </div> </div> <div id="columnRight"><div class="variantA"> <h3>More Sleep on Health & Wellbeing</h3> <ul> <li class="related4257650"> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/health/talkinghealth/factbuster/stories/2015/06/23/4257650.htm">Should you wake a sleepwalker?</a> </li> <li class="related4253054"> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/health/quizzestools/quizzes/2015/06/11/4253054.htm">Sleep</a> </li> <li class="related4239985"> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2015/05/21/4239985.htm">Understanding sleepy teens</a> </li> <li class="related4190500"> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2015/03/03/4190500.htm">Is your sleep tracking app keeping you awake at night?</a> </li> <li class="related4169022"> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2015/01/28/4169022.htm">Social jet lag behind back to work and school grind</a> </li> <li class="related4149658"> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2014/12/16/4149658.htm">Why holidays can make you more sleepy</a> </li> </ul> <p> <a href="/health/tag/sleep" class="more">More</a> </p> </div> <div class="variantB"> <h3><span>Elsewhere on ABC</span></h3> <ul> <li> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2016/s4422167.htm">Children with sleep problems more likely to struggle adjusting to school</a> <br />AM</li> <li> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/08/12/4291405.htm">REM sleep triggers imagery in the 'mind's eye'</a> <br />Science Online</li> <li> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/08/03/4265557.htm">Feeling tired? 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