Counsellors' Corner
In previous articles we have covered topics such as stress management, adjustment, and coping. Underlying all these concepts is the importance of looking after our general wellbeing. Wellbeing includes healthy eating, movement and exercise, taking time for yourself and your families, and sleep.
You may have noticed that, since your young person started high school, their sleep pattern has changed. Adolescents’ sleep patterns can be drastically different from those of children and adults. Until the age of ten most children awake refreshed and energetic; however, teens are often drowsy upon waking, tired during the day, and wakeful at night. While this can be frustrating for parents, it is important to remember that it is not occurring because adolescents are lazy.
In adolescence, the brain’s biological clock - or circadian rhythm - shifts forward. Melatonin secretions, which trigger sleepiness, start later at night and turn off later in the morning. This is why you may notice that your adolescent expresses reluctance to go to bed at a traditional time such as 9pm or 10pm. The natural shift in their circadian rhythm peps up adolescents in the evening and teenagers can find it difficult to sleep. It can also explain why it is so hard to rouse teenagers early in the morning. In contrast, circadian rhythms in middle-aged people tend to swing backward, and many parents struggle to stay awake when their adolescent children are at their most alert.
Teenagers need as much sleep or more than they had as children. Nine to ten hours' sleep is considered optimum from ages fourteen to seventeen. Most adolescents are chronically sleep-deprived, averaging a scant six to seven hours a night. Many young people go to bed at a later time but are forced to wake early for school, creating significant sleep deficit. Sleep deprivation is also more common during high stress times, such as assessment periods.
Too little sleep can result in irritability, inability to do tasks that are not exciting or of a competitive nature, and dependence on caffeinated drinks to stay alert. Young people may begin relying on naps in the afternoon as they feel unable to stay awake. This can impact their ability to fall asleep in the evening and the quality of sleep through the night. Sleep debt also has a powerful effect on a young person’s ability to learn and retain new material, especially in subject areas such as physics, philosophy, math, and calculus.
Battling biology can be daunting, but adults can assist their young person to have enough sleep by keeping TVs and electronic devices (including laptops, tablets, and mobile phones) out of their bedrooms, especially throughout the night, avoiding caffeinated drinks in the evening, and encouraging good sleep routines. This includes ceasing technology and schoolwork at least an hour before going to bed. Encourage your young person to develop a relaxing bedtime routine (eg have a warm bath/shower, have a hot milky drink, read), and do the same bedtime routine every night for at least four weeks to make your brain associate this routine with going to sleep. Catch-up sleep on weekends is a second-best option because it can confuse the brain as to when night-time occurs and is not as restorative as regular slumber.
Information is taken from the Generation Next Blog and is based on the book: The Teen Years Explained- Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development by McNeely and Blanchard.
Ellie Keane & Emma Moore
