Advertisement Sleep experts say that pattern, coupled with “makeup sleep” on the weekend, is a recipe for problems.
“Kids who have an ongoing shift in their sleep patterns often have poor school performance and problems with depression and cognition,” says Dr. Ruth Benca, co-director of Wisconsin Sleep and the new sleep research center at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “It’s far from an ideal situation.”
Part of the phenomenon is natural. The body’s circadian rhythms — the cycles that govern sleep and waking — start to change during puberty. During the teen years, the internal circadian clock turns many teens into “night owls.”
Then society complicates the formula. Activities that encourage kids to stay up late — surfing the Internet, texting friends, watching late-night reruns of “South Park” — create the perfect recipe for disaster.
No big deal? Not so fast. According to Benca, the combination of biology and society that drives teenagers’ erratic sleep patterns has costs that aren’t being measured.
Sleep experts and parents agree: Most teenagers don’t regularly come anywhere near to the recommended eight to 10 hours of sleep a night. The shortfall sets up a familiar situation: kids who sleep only three to four hours a night during the week try to make up for the deficit by logging 10 to 12 hours on the weekend.
But while “make-up sleep” may have an immediate effect, it also can incur a more serious social and educational cost.
Many public schools begin classes as early as 7:30 a.m., but plenty of extracurricular activities—music rehearsals, swim team practices, debate club—start even earlier to take advantage of small gaps in a teenager’s day.
“Some kids are getting up at 5 a.m. to fit these activities into their schedule,” says Benca. “Needless to say, they get pretty sleep-deprived. But what’s worse is that kids who are trying to get good grades are ending up going to class at a time when their brains aren’t biologically functioning at an optimal level.”
At a recent meeting of national sleep experts in Madison, the question of whether public school schedules are designed to promote kids’ sleep was a central topic of discussion. While several school districts across the country have raised the possibility of a later school start time, Benca’s unaware of any that have taken that step in Wisconsin.
So what can parents do to ease teens’ erratic sleep habits? Benca believes that emphasizing the importance of regular sleep should begin at an early age, before bad habits have become ingrained. Parents can limit children’s evening activities, including late-night extracurriculars and late shifts at part-time jobs. Daily, parents should also set a good example — by getting a good night of sleep themselves.
“These are difficult choices to have to make, but we know that lack of adequate sleep has a profound effect on every part of our lives,” says Benca. “The implication for daytime function is that kids who go to bed earlier during the week feel better and perform better in everything they do.”
