The Preteen Sleep Cycle

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The preteen definition is a little bit slippery. I'd say it's usually 11 to 13 if you're going to be basing on chronological age. But we know that a lot of children nowadays maybe and start experiencing puberty, like adenarchy, menarchy, et cetera, like age 10 or even a little bit earlier. So you're going to see some of the biological and hormonal changes even a little bit before that age range potentially.
And as we're thinking about those two or just even group together as teens, in the past we spoke about children and infants and particularly for children, regularity and a particular time in bed and an opportunity to of sleep time, a sleep window opportunity time is one of the best determinants of how much sleep that they're going to get. Now, putting all societal forces aside for a second regarding teens and we'll get to those because they are nontrivial and rather nefarious, what is perhaps one of the single most influential factors that will determine how much sleep a teenager would typically obtain irrespective of their sleep need or perhaps what is the most clear determinant that you know of sleep duration in a teen?

Matt returns with Dr. Craig Kanapari to discuss sleep in teens and how biological and hormonal changes occur at a young age, usually around 11-13. The most clear determinant of sleep duration in a teen is wake time, and enforcing a wake time inappropriate to the teen's natural sleep period can lead to insomnia-like symptoms and create conflict. The single greatest threat to a teen's sleep schedule is early high school start times. California recently signed a law to address this, and other states are beginning to follow suit.

They also discuss teenage sleep deprivation and the issues it leads to. They also explore the concept of social jet lag as well as how teens often have their own devices and are allowed to keep their phones in their rooms. The conversation continues with the effects of chronic sleep deprivation on teenagers, including on academic performance and psychological effects such as depression and anxiety, as well as the health and safety implications, such as increased risk of car accidents.

Lastly, they recount the relationship between kids and ADHD, sleep deprivation, and medication. Specifically how teens not getting enough sleep can masquerade as ADHD, how stimulants used to treat ADHD can affect nighttime sleep, and the issue of hypersomnia. It suggests that parents look out for their children's sleep duration and snoring, and if their child is struggling, not to forget about sleep as it is important for their health and wellbeing.