My 15-year-old sleeps all the time. He can’t get up on time for school, sleeps in study hall and naps on weekends! Is this normal for teens?
It is a myth that teenagers sleep too much. The truth is, the average teen needs more sleep than he or she gets. Between ages 12 and 18, adolescents need close to nine hours’ sleep per day. They rarely get this much, and the causes are three-fold:
1. Lifestyle issues. Teens can spend hours texting, downloading music, gaming, social networking and watching videos online – often while drinking caffeinated beverages. Add late-night social activities, pressures from school work and after-school jobs to the mix, and teens are living a lifestyle that puts sleep needs on the back-burner! Peer pressure is simply too strong.
2. A delayed ‘inner clock.’ In up to 10-15 percent of adolescents, the body’s inner clock gradually shifts to keeping delayed time. These teens do not feel sleepy at all at 10 or 11 p.m. – rather, their bodies begin to feel sleepy around 1 or 2 a.m.! So too, their bodies want to get up at 9 or 10 a.m. rather than 6 or 7 a.m.
3. Lack of information. Most teens are unaware of their sleep needs and know little of healthy sleep habits. Diminishing parental supervision of teenagers completes the picture, producing a vicious "late-to-bed, late-to-rise" cycle. The end result: sleepiness at school, afternoon napping and weekend catch-up sleep, typically after Friday "all-nighters”!
It is no wonder that the myth that teenagers sleep too much persists. Talk to your son about how much sleep his body needs and encourage him to adopt a more sleep-friendly lifestyle. If your son makes these changes but continues to oversleep for more than a few months, contact your doctor about a sleep evaluation. (By the way, it is not just boys, this problem afflicts girls as well.)
Sleep evaluations often reveal the presence of a sleep disorder, often going on for much longer than parents initially suspected. Untreated sleep disorders are associated with underachievement at school and work, teen auto accidents, depression and interpersonal conflicts, and worsening of health problems such as diabetes and obesity.
By Jyoti Krishna, MD, Head, Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Sleep Disorders Program
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Be Well™ eNews articles are written for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as medical advice. They have not been designed to replace a physician's assessment and medical judgment. Always consult with your physician first about anything related to your personal health.
