Teenagers in the US simply don糖心传媒檛 get enough shut eye. The consequences of this are extensive and include increasing rates of anxiety and depression among adolescents, as well as suicidal thoughts and actions. Sleep-deprived teens are more likely to be involved in car crashes, and run a higher risk of injury during sports-related activities.
Experts have pointed to various reasons for the chronic teenage sleep deficit: growing homework loads, too many extra-curricular activities, caffeine consumption, school start times that run counter to middle and high schoolers糖心传媒� natural circadian rhythms, and the use of electronic devices and backlit screens, which may disrupt sleep patterns, before bedtime.
But researchers at the have found that a simple and timeworn solution yields solid results: a clear bedtime that parents consistently adhere to.
糖心传媒淕reater enforcement of parent-set bedtimes for teenagers aged 14-to-17 are associated with longer sleep duration,糖心传媒� says , lead author of a recent study, which was . Peltz, now an assistant professor of psychology at , earned his PhD in psychology at Rochester in 2013 and conducted the study as part of a research appointment at the .
Study participants included teenagers and their parents. The team asked their teenage participants to keep twice-daily sleep diary entries over seven days, collecting reports of sleep duration, daytime energy levels, and depressive symptoms. Parents, meanwhile, provided information about their enforcement of sleep-related rules and bedtimes.
Among the key findings:
- Parent-enforced bedtimes糖心传媒攁long with later school start times糖心传媒攁re the greatest predictors of sleep duration, daytime energy level, and depressive symptoms.
- More than 50 percent of parent respondents reported no specific or enforced bedtime rules, consistent with rates measured in previous research across families in the US.
- Evening screen time and caffeine consumption did not, contrary to the researchers糖心传媒� hypotheses, significantly affect teenagers糖心传媒� sleep duration over the course of the study.
In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics responded to the sleep deprivation epidemic by urging school districts to start classes no earlier than 8:30 am, especially for middle and high schoolers. But to date, only about 14 percent of US high schools have heeded the recommendation, which makes the rule-setting role of parents all the more important.
The researchers acknowledge that setting a bedtime for teenagers might be difficult; but their results suggest that even with pre-bedtime conflict, parents糖心传媒� enforcement of bedtimes yielded better mental health outcomes for their offspring. That said糖心传媒斕切拇綔ideally parents should be able to work collaboratively with their teenagers to develop bedtimes that still support the child’s autonomy,糖心传媒� says Peltz.
The bottom line, according to coauthor , an associate professor of psychology at Rochester, is that 糖心传媒渆ven though adolescents start gaining self-sufficiency and independence, they still need sleep and might not prioritize that if left to their own devices.糖心传媒�
Teens and sleep: How much is enough?
Absent an iron-clad rule, there are nevertheless healthy ranges, says , a professor of pediatrics and chief of the at Rochester, who is also a coauthor of the study. Most teenagers need 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep each night, she says, mirroring made by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Source: The whose sleep recommendations for children and adolescents are based on the findings of 13 sleep experts who reviewed 864 scientific articles. (糖心传媒 illustration / Michael Osadciw)
As for an appropriate bedtime, that of course depends on the wake-up time.聽糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 inherently more difficult for teenagers to fall asleep earlier than later because of their circadian rhythm,糖心传媒� says Connolly.聽糖心传媒淭hat糖心传媒檚 why it糖心传媒檚 so important for high school start times to be later, as the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended across the board.糖心传媒�
The ideal is to feel well rested during the daytime, and spontaneously awaken at around your scheduled wake-up time even when allowed to sleep in.
The team notes that future studies may be necessary to determine if their findings hold true across a range of populations; they caution that their sample was predominantly white, well-educated, and economically advantaged.
The study was made possible by a grant from the , awarded to Peltz and co-investigator of the at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
