Psychiatr News May 19, 2006
Volume 41, Number 10, page 41
© 2006 American Psychiatric Association
Sleep-Deprived Teens Report Stress, Mood Disorders
Lynne Lamberg
Call them Generation Zzzzz: The nation's teenagers get too little sleep,
a recent poll finds.
Six in 10 American students in grades 9 to 12 average less than eight hours
of sleep on school nights, according to the National Sleep Foundation 2006
Sleep in America poll, released in March. Research shows most adolescents need
at least nine hours of sleep to feel and function at their best.
"Poll data confirm and extend what we've learned about adolescent
sleep patterns and problems over the past few decades," said Mary
Carskadon, Ph.D., poll task force chair. She directs the E.P. Bradley Hospital
sleep and chronobiology research laboratory at Brown University.
Polltakers surveyed by telephone a randomly selected sample of the U.S.
population: 1,602 adult caregivers of teenagers, and, separately, their
children aged 11 to 17 in grades 6 to 12. The combined adult/child interviews
took about 25 minutes and were conducted between September 19, 2005, and
November 29, 2005. The poll has a margin of error of 2.4 percentage
points.
Carskadon's summer sleep camp studies in the 1970s show pubertal changes
prompt an increased need for sleep. She later found a delay in the timing of
the body's biological clock also kicks in at puberty, shifting adolescents'
physiological readiness for sleep to 11 p.m. or later.
As students get older, homework, extracurricular activities, jobs, and
socializing push bedtimes even later. "Many teenagers' bedrooms are a
technological playground, with access to a radio, television, telephone,
computer, and the Internet," Carskadon said. The poll found 97 percent
of adolescents have at least one electronic item in their bedroom. Sixth
graders usually have two; 12th graders have four. Those with four or more
items reported about 30 minutes less sleep than those with fewer devices.
"Talking with friends and instant messaging keep adolescents from
feeling tired in the evening," Carskadon noted. "But they must get
up around 6:30 a.m. to get ready for school." Most high schools in the
U.S. open slightly before 8 a.m., and most middle schools open slightly after
8 a.m., too early for most teens, Carskadon maintained.
At least once a week, 1 in 4 students in grades 9 to 12 dozes in class, and
1 in 7 oversleeps and arrives at school late or misses school. Among those who
drive, 51 percent admit driving while drowsy in the past year, and 15 percent
report fighting sleepiness while driving at least once a week.
Sixth graders average 8.4 hours of sleep on school nights, and students in
grade 12, only 6.9 hours. Taking naps and sleeping longer on weekends disrupts
body clocks and does not adequately replace lost sleep, Carskadon said.
| |
Brand X Pictures
|
|
While only 9 percent of high school students get the optimal nine hours of
sleep on school nights, 80 percent of these students report getting As and Bs.
Less than half of those who average eight hours or less report such high
grades.
Using a validated instrument for depressive mood in adolescents,
researchers asked adolescents how often different mood states had bothered or
troubled them "much," "somewhat," or "not at
all" in the past two weeks.
In every instance, students in grades 9 to 12 reported greater mood
disturbance than those in grades 6 to 8. Nearly two-thirds of high school
students reported being bothered "much" or "somewhat"
by worrying too much about things, and/or being stressed out or anxious in the
previous two weeks. One-half similarly endorsed feeling nervous or tense; 4 in
10, feeling unhappy, sad, or depressed; and 1 in 4, feeling hopeless about the
future.
Students with the highest depressive mood scores were more likely than
those with lower scores to report getting less than eight hours sleep, having
trouble falling and staying asleep, and feeling sleepy in the daytime. They
also were more apt to report trouble getting along with their family, feeling
cranky and irritable, feeling too tired to exercise, and consuming two or more
caffeinated beverages each day. The poll did not ask about alcohol or drug
use.
Poll findings hold implications for psychiatric practice, said Jodi
Mindell, Ph.D., co-chair of the NSF task force. "Any time an adolescent
is being evaluated for depression, sleep should be in the equation,"
said Mindell, a professor of psychology at St. Joseph's University and
associate director of the sleep center at the Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia.
"Improving sleep with basic sleep hygiene often substantially
benefits mood," she said. "That means forgo caffeine after lunch,
take television and computers out of the bedroom, and regularize sleep
schedules."
The 1,271 members of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry who responded to a survey by Mindell and colleagues said insomnia
was a major problem in 32 percent of their adolescent patients. More than half
said they used a prescription or nonprescription medication to manage insomnia
at least half or more of the time when treating primary insomnia; depression;
bipolar, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorders; delayed sleep phase; and
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
A paper on these findings is in preparation. More information on the
adolescent sleep poll is posted at
<www.sleepfoundation.org/hottopics/index.php?secid=18>.
Related Article:
-
Experts Urge New Network For Sleep-Disorder Research
- Lynne Lamberg
Psychiatr News 2006 41: 41.
[Full Text]
Get information about faster international access.
Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2006
American Psychiatric Association.
All rights reserved.
Home
| Search
| Current Issue
| Past Issues
| Subscribe
| All APPI Journals
| Help
| Contact Us
| 
