Teen Sleep

Teen sleep disorders like narcolepsy, sleep apnea are generally found in most of the teens.

There are hundreds of teen sleep disorders. Some of the common teen sleep disorders are insommnia (trouble getting to sleep), sleepwalking (walking or moving about during sleep), and sleep bruxism (grinding of clenching of the teeth during sleep).

The main reason for teen sleep deprivation is that teens don’t get enough sleep. Another reason for teen sleep deprivation is the pressure on teens to do well in school.

Teens who don't get enough sleep are more likely to doze off in class and are less able to concentrate, learn, and solve problems. Teen brains have different circadian rhythms 24-hour sleep and wake cycles from those of children or adults.

The circadian rhythm of adolescents pushes their "natural" sleep onset later in the 24-hour day, making them feel most comfortable when they go to bed late and awaken late. In teens the circadian rhythms keep them awake later at night and signal their bodies to sleep later in the morning.

Lack of teen sleep can also be dangerous. Of the estimated 100,000 car crashes a year linked to drivers' falling asleep, almost half involve drivers ages 15 to 24, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Teen Sleep Advice

If you are like many teens, you are tired most of the time and facing teen sleep deprivation. That's your body's way of telling you that you're not getting enough sleep. The problem is that a teenager's internal body clock is naturally set to go to sleep late and wake up late.

As teens awake early to get to school on time, their natural sleep rhythms are thrown off, and they may end up with delayed sleep-phase syndrome, the most common teen sleep problems faced. The best way to treat teen sleep is to take these steps:

• Go to bed in a healthy sleep environment. "That means a cool, quiet bedroom that's dark at night, but has bright sunlight in the morning." Stolz says. It also means going to sleep without the TV on. TV might not keep you from falling asleep, but the flickering light will disrupt your sleep later.
• Sleep on a regular schedule. Get up at the same time seven days a week. Teens never want to do that, but it's excellent advice, especially since catching up on lost ZZZs by sleeping late on the weekends doesn't work.
• Set up a bedtime routine that gives you some quiet time before you go to sleep. Get into bed when you feel tired, and when you get sleepy, go to sleep. Don't fight sleep to finish homework; it's better to set your alarm earlier and finish when you get up.
• Exercise as much as you can. In general, exercise helps give you a good night's sleep. But wrap up your activity several hours before you go to bed. Exercising too close to bedtime can keep you awake for hours.
• Limit your caffeine intake and cut it off altogether by 2 p.m. Caffeine is a stimulant and it will keep you from falling asleep properly. So will nicotine--just one more reason not to smoke.