Back to School, Back to a Good Night's Sleep
Parents, Teachers Unaware of Teens' Special Sleep Needs
Adolescents Often Severely Sleep Deprived

ALEXANDRIA, VA (August 12, 1994) – At a time when they should be focusing on making the grades to get into college, sleep researchers report that today's teens are nodding off in class out of sheer exhaustion. Whether burning the midnight oil or working an after-school job, too many teens get by on too little sleep, with potentially devastating consequences.

Why are teens so tired? It's simple. They don't get the sleep they need because they – and their parents and teachers – don't know how important it is. In fact, many parents and school systems instill practices that actually prevent teens from getting the sleep they need.

Armed with new information about teens' special need for sleep, leading sleep experts are issuing a wake-up call to parents and teens alike.

Teens Need More – But Get Less – Sleep

Contrary to the belief that the need for sleep diminishes with age, the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research reported that adolescents actually need more sleep than children just a few years younger. But few adults or teens are aware of this. As Dr. Richard Allen, founder of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center, points out, "Teens tend to get only six to seven hours of sleep, which isn't enough. They should be getting at least eight to nine hours."

What's behind teens not getting enough sleep? Two root causes, say experts: A shift in teens' biological clock; and increased demands on their time as they move from childhood towards adulthood.

To begin with, puberty tinkers with sleep patterns. "Due to their biological clocks, teens are more alert later in the day. In fact, they're wide awake when school lets out," explains Dr. Allen. Yet school generally starts earlier for older adolescents than younger children, contradicting their natural biological sleep patterns.

Also compounding teens' sleep problems: unhealthy demands on their time. The National Commission found that adolescents today get 90 minutes less sleep than they did 80 years ago.

In addition to getting less sleep, teens are also busier, perhaps too busy. A recent survey of 3,000 teens by Dr. Mary A. Carskadon, Director of Chronobiology at the E.P. Bradley Hospital at Brown University's School of Medicine, found that 59 percent of those surveyed held part-time jobs. Twenty percent said they spend at least 20 hours a week in extracurricular activities. And many – 65 percent of girls and 38 percent of boys – get up before 6:00 a.m. on school mornings.

With school starting so early for teens, activities like work and sports encroach on valuable sleeping time. Such a hectic pace can lead teens to try (consciously or not) to make up the lost hours of sleep on weekends. Ironically, say scientists, this causes problems too: a teen who spends weekends staying up past midnight and sleeping in past noon may have difficulty falling asleep at 9:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m. on school nights.

What Do Teens Lose When They Lose Sleep?

The pervasiveness and acceptance of teens going without enough sleep encourages unhealthy sleep habits that can develop into a lifetime of severe, chronic sleep deprivation. But teens who don't get enough sleep also face several immediate and very dangerous risks.

While fatalities due to teen drinking and driving have leveled off, teen driving fatalities due to other causes – such as sleepiness – are making up the difference. A tragic illustration: in 1989, a teen named America's safest teenage driver fell asleep at the wheel of the car he'd won as a prize. He hit another car head on, killing himself and the other driver.

In many ways no less alarming are teens whose lack of sleep causes them to fail in school. Dr. Allen, who studied the relationship of sleep to teens' academic performance, said, "The kids who get less sleep during the school week have worse grades." A prime reason, said Dr. Allen, is that "It's difficult to learn a new concept when you're sleepy. You can't learn algebra while falling asleep."

Dr. Carskadon elaborates: "For many teenagers the consequences of fatigue include a decline in school performance and increased moodiness," which strain important relationships with teachers, parents and friends.

Parents Can Help Their Teens Get Better Sleep

Helping teens get better sleep requires a shift in attitudes among teens and parents. Here are a few tips parents should follow:

• Make sure teens get enough sleep. "The most important advice for parents is to help your kids get at least eight hours of sleep on school nights – particularly the night before an exam," said Dr. Allen.

• Let teens make up lost sleep. Let teens sleep in a bit on the weekends if they need it. It's not laziness – it's a biological need. Also help your teen get more sleep during the week.

• Talk to teens about the risks of going without sleep. Help them establish priorities. They won't do well on tests if they stay up all night studying and then fall asleep during the exam. Nor will they be safe drivers if they haven't had enough sleep.

• Make sure teens have a good sleep environment. The recipe for healthy sleep requires a room that's dark, on the cool side, quiet, safe and comfortable.

• Provide teens with comfortable, supportive bedding. Because they're growing, teens need more sleep than many other age groups, and yet they often don't have the most important piece of equipment for getting a good night's sleep: a quality mattress. Parents should not give their teens hand-me-down bedding. A good rule of thumb: If a bed is no longer good enough for you, it's not good enough for your teens, either.

Andrea Herman, Director of the Better Sleep Council, advises," Teens' bodies are changing; and their changing bodies may need new bedding. The twin bed you bought for your child when he was six probably doesn't provide your teen with enough space for a good night's sleep when he's sixteen."

Noting that parents need to teach teens the role of sleep in a healthy lifestyle, Herman added, "Kids learn lifetime habits during adolescence. Parents should ensure that the habits they learn are healthy ones. And that certainly includes getting a good night's sleep.

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The Better Sleep Council, a non-profit organization supported by the mattress industry, is devoted to educating the public about the importance of sleep to good health and quality of life, and about the value of the sleep system and sleep environment in pursuit of a good night's sleep.

Free publication available: The Better Sleep Council publishes the Better Sleep Guide, a 16-page color brochure about the connection between sleep and health, how to assess the condition of your mattress, and guidelines for shopping for a new sleep set. The brochure is available by sending your request to: Guide, P.O. Box 19534, Alexandria, VA 22320-0534; in Canada: Guide, Downsview CSC, P.O. Box 430, Downsview, Ontario, M3M 3A8

Facts and Advice About Teens and Sleep
Teen Sleep Fact Sheet

According to The National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research …

• During adolescence, the need for sleep increases, yet the typical adolescent drastically reduces the amount of time spent in bed at night.

• The demands of homework, socializing and part-time employment after school set the stage for what may well become a lifetime of severe chronic sleep deprivation.

• The impact of sleep deprivation on teens is considerable:

• Teenagers are at a very high risk for automobile accidents – while fatalities due to drinking and driving have leveled off, teenage fatalities due to "other causes" have nearly made up for this reduction.
• Sleepy students compromise their educational opportunities by tardiness because they can't get out of bed in the morning, and once in school, they dream and doze in the classroom.
• Children simply cannot learn when they're not awake and alert.

• When President Bush spoke at an Ohio high school, at least one-third of the students in the auditorium was clearly asleep. If students are not able to stay awake during an exciting opportunity to see the President, it is highly unlikely that they will be alert and able to gain from the average classroom experience.

• According to surveys, children and adolescents slept approximately 1.5 hours more per night 80 years ago than they do at present.

• Sleep is an essential biological need; it should be promoted as behavior necessary to maintaining good physical and mental health.

According to research conducted by Dr. Mary A. Carskadon, Director of Chronobiology at the E. P. Bradley Hospital at Brown University's School of Medicine …

• According to a study that tracked children over a number of years, most exhibited adequate sleeping patterns until they were 12 or 13 years old. At this point, many showed sleep reduction and daytime sleepiness.

• A number of factors common to adolescence conspire to limit sleep and thus amplify the biological adolescent sleepiness. Increasing schoolwork, social opportunities and jobs pressure teens to stay up late. Waking up early for school and parental pressure to get out of bed limit sleep at the end of the day.

• Thus, limited time is available for sleep and many teens develop a pattern of chronic sleepiness.

• 59 percent of high school students hold part-time jobs (28 percent work more than 20 hours per week).

• 20 percent report spending at least 20 hours per week in extracurricular activities.

• 65 percent of girls and 38 percent of boys report getting up before 6:00 a.m. on school mornings.

• Physical changes associated with puberty prompt a shift in the body's time clock. The changes make teens more alert at night and create a need to sleep later in the morning.

• Pubertal development is associated with increased daytime sleepiness, even when sleep at night remains at a fairly high level.

• Teenagers are ignorant of the principles of good sleep hygiene and of the risks of insufficient sleep, as are their parents and teachers.

• Parents of teens begin to direct their attention away from setting bedtimes and toward enforcing wake-up times.

• The current economic climate in the U.S. encourages teens to work to earn money – and to spend it. As long as the common misperception holds that teens need less sleep, as long as teenagers remain ignorant of the principles of proper sleep/wake behavior, and as long as there is failure to understand and acknowledge the risks of excessive sleepiness, there will be a large number of teens who are needlessly vulnerable to tragic accidents.

According to The Minnesota Medical Association ...

• Due to research which indicates that adolescents need more sleep than young children, and that adolescents experience a biological shift toward later sleep patterns, the Minnesota Medical Association is urging local school districts to open schools later.

• Minneapolis School District officials are considering moving the start of the high school day from 7:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

• Despite the fact that teens are naturally more awake later in the day, schools start earlier for them than for younger children.

• Sending teens to bed early is not the solution. Due to their biological clocks, they cannot fall asleep early.

• Social and academic demands are leading to sleep deprivation in adolescents. Teens mistakenly believe sleep is a negotiable need, it is not.

• The less sleep teens get, the more likely they are to fall asleep in class, fall asleep driving or use caffeine to stay awake.

• Sleepiness results in the impairment of perception, reasoning, performance and judgement. Attention deficits frequently accompany the effects of sleep loss.

• The grave academic and socioeconomic consequences of sleepy adolescents in the classroom, on the job and behind the wheel are self-evident and, to a large extent, preventable and avoidable.

Sleep Tips for Teens
Tips to Help Your Teen Get a Good Night's Sleep

• Recommend a reasonable bedtime. It is important that teens get at least eight hours of sleep on school nights.

• Allow your teen to make up for lost sleep. When your teen sleeps in on the weekend, his or her body is making up for sleep lost during the week.

• Promote regular exercise. Some form of exercise, for 20 to 30 minutes at least three days a week, will help your teen sleep better. But be sure he or she doesn't exercise too close to bedtime.

• Reduce caffeine intake. Consuming significant amounts of caffeine, found in soda or chocolate, makes it harder for your teen to sleep.

• Provide your teen with comfortable bedding. Teens can't get the deep, restful sleep they need on a mattress that's too small, too soft, too hard, too old or provides inadequate support and comfort.

• Encourage your teen to unwind early. Help your teen deal with concerns well before going to bed.

• Ensure your teen doesn't go to bed stuffed or starved. A stomach that is either too full or too empty can cause physical discomfort throughout the night.

• Help your teen develop a sleep routine. The transition from nighttime to bedtime is made easier by doing the same things in the same order each night before bed.

• Make sleep a priority for your teen. Teens must realize the importance of sleep even when they're tempted to stay up late. Their performance in school and on the road depends on it.

Does Your Teen Need a New Bed?

How long a sleep set lasts depends on its quality and how well it's cared for. The performance of a poor quality set can deteriorate quickly, while top quality sets can be expected to perform well for several years. Generally, you should carefully evaluate the comfort of any sleep set in your house – including your teen's – at least twice a year to make sure you're getting the sleep you need.

We suggest conducting a comfort comparison test of your teen's bedding at your local mattress retailer. Your teen shouldn't be shy about taking off his shoes and lying down on the mattress – that's the only way he'll find out how it really feels. In the meantime, test the condition of your teen's sleep set by conducting the following bed check:

• Are they sleeping better or worse than a year ago?
• Do they wake up feeling stiff and sore?
• Are there visible signs of wear and tear on their mattress?
• Would a new mattress improve the quality of their sleep?

Tips for a Wise Buy

• Comfort and Support. A mattress doesn't need to be as hard as a board to offer good support. Your teen will sleep best in a bed that offers superior comfort and appropriate support.

• Space. Select a mattress size that gives your teen enough room for free, easy movement.

• Sets. Matching mattresses and foundations are designed to work together to enhance comfort and support. The foundation acts as a giant shock absorber, taking a lot of the wear and tear of nightly use.

• Value. Shop for the best value, not the lowest prices. "Bargain bedding" is no bargain when it comes to getting a good night's sleep. Buying the best you can afford is a sound investment in your teen's health.

Localizing Your Teen Sleep Coverage

Following are some ideas for putting a local face on the national perspective provided in this release:

• Contact local high school principals to learn their views on problems related to teen sleeplessness. See if sleep is discussed in health or drivers education classes. Find out what percentage of students participate in extracurricular activities.

• Talk with the students themselves. Do they combat sleepiness? Do they believe going without sleep is bad for their homework or health? Have they had any problems due to lack of sleep?

• If there are test preparation, tutoring or study centers in your area ask for their guidelines on sleep preparation for major academic tests.

• Consult with local sleep clinics and ask for their insights on teen sleeplessness in your area.

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