During puberty the brain’s production of the sleep hormone melatonin is delayed by about 1 to 2 hours compared to adults and younger children.
A teenager who used to feel sleepy at 9:00 PM now naturally struggles to fall asleep until 11:00 PM or midnight.
However, despite the tendency to stay up later, teenagers actually require more sleep than adults and older children, with most adolescents needing about 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night to properly fuel brain development, learning, and mood regulation.
Because of the delayed shift of melatonin, many teens cannot fall asleep early enough to get sufficient rest before school, which makes early school start times a recipe for chronic sleep deprivation.
Researchers from the University of Zurich studying a Swiss high school that introduced flexible start times found that students overwhelmingly chose to begin later and ended up sleeping about 45 minutes longer each school night.
The extra rest led to fewer sleep problems, better wellbeing and improved academic performance.
While teenagers may not be able to control the time school starts, there are things they can do to improve their sleep.
1. Banish the blue light before bed
Biological shifts are often worsened by lifestyle and social factors that disrupt healthy sleep habits. Using smart phones, tablets, or gaming consoles before bed exposes teens to blue light, further suppressing melatonin production.
2. Don’t stay up too late on the weekend
On weekends, staying up too late and sleeping in too much can also upset your natural sleep wake rhythm, pushing sleep patterns later. Try to keep your weekend bedtimes within 2 hours of your weekday sleep time, eg if you go to bed at 9:30 during the week, go to be before 11:30 on the weekend.
3. Start the day with sunshine
Having breakfast outside or by a sunny window helps regulate the body’s biological clock,
