Sleep
sleep; routines; tired; tiredness;
Contents
If you are a 'regular' teen then you probably want to stay up late at night and just don't want to wake up in the morning. How many times do you have to be nagged before you drag yourself out of bed?
Well, next time you are being nagged at to get up you can tell your mum that teens need more sleep than kids who are a couple of years younger. About 9 hours a night.
However she will probably come back at you with, "Well you still need to get up earlier." She would be right too.
Everyone has an internal clock that regulates body temperature, appetite, hormonal changes and sleep. This is called circadian rhythm. As a kid your 'clock' made you sleepy at around 8pm but once you hit puberty your body may not start to feel sleepy until much later, 11pm or later sometimes. It also makes it harder for you to wake up early enough in the morning.
What happens during sleep?
- We need regular sleep because our bodies need to rest after the day's activities.
- Our minds need to relax and rest.
- Our bodies need to work on repairing, replacing and growing new cells.
How much sleep do you need?
These are average times - many people will need more, and many need less.
| New babies |
about 14.5 hours |
| 2 year olds |
about 13 hours |
| 5 year olds |
about 11 hours |
| 10 year olds |
about 8 hours |
| 16 year olds |
about 9 hours |
| Adults |
about 7.5 hours |
The best time to sleep for most of us in Australia is at night, but is some countries they also have a sleep during the day (a siesta). Most Australians need to be awake during the day.
So, work out what time you have to get up to be able to get to school or work on time, and then take 9 hours off.
That's what you need to have as your regular bedtime!
Can you catch up on sleep?
The short answer is "Maybe". If you have a late night then sleeping in the next day may help you recover.
But, having an extra long sleep-in at the weekend doesn't really help you catch on sleep you have missed during the week. And changing your regular week day sleeping pattern to a different one on the weekend can make it harder to get to sleep at the right time during the week and harder still to get up.
If you go to bed very early to try to catch up on sleep then you could find yourself awake in the middle of the night and your body clock might be out of whack for several days.
So, aim for a regular sleep pattern to keep yourself rested and alert when you need to be like during lessons, work or exam time.
Getting to sleep and waking up
Sleep deprivation can cause all sorts of problems so here are some ideas for getting the best sleep you can.
- Organize your life so that you have a regular schedule of school, work exercise and relaxing so that you get to sleep about the same time most nights.
- Switch off tv, loud music, computers and mobile phones half an hour before your sleep time so that you can get into your bedtime routine. Lots of people find that a routine of reading for 15 minutes or so can help them relax off to sleep.
- Turn lights off before you go to sleep.
- Maybe leave the curtains open a bit so the daylight wakes you up in the morning. Switch on a bright light to wake you up on those dark winter mornings.
- Use a radio alarm clock properly. Use the snooze button to send you off to sleep with quiet relaxing music. Change to a loud energetic station when you wake up in the morning.
- Keep your room tidy so that you feel calm and not distracted - at least your mum will be calmer, then you will not be feeling hassled!
- Have a shower before bedtime to relax you – though some people need a shower in the morning to wake them up – work out what suits you and your family best.
- Don't have drinks with caffeine in them after 6 at night (some people find it best if they don't have these drinks after lunch time). Caffeine is in coffee, regular tea, cola and other soft drinks, and it will keep you awake.
- Don't have long sleeps during the day unless you are in a country where the afternoon sleep or 'siesta' is a regular part of life. Of course you may feel tired after sport or a long hard day at school or work. A short 'power nap' of 30 minutes will revive you but a longer nap may upset those circadian rhythms.
Causes of excessive tiredness
There are many reasons why you may feel really tired during the daytime apart from a late night or a really hard sports game.
- Some medications, for colds, allergies, ADHD, ADD, and other prescription drugs can lead to feelings of tiredness and can affect sleep patterns.
- Feeling depressed can lead to extreme tiredness when you feel that you prefer to stay asleep rather than face up to problems in your life. There is a topic called 'Depression' than might be useful if you are feeling down.
- Sleep disorders like snoring, sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome can all affect your chances of a good nights sleep.
- There may be a medical problem such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) or Glandular fever (sometimes called the kissing disease and very common among teens).
- If you know that you are trying to keep to a regular pattern of sleeping and you are still feeling tired and 'down' during the day then it is a good idea to have a talk with your parents or caregivers and arrange to visit your doctor.
Sleep is a really important part of keeping healthy. Regular exercise and a healthy diet can help you to feel relaxed and ready to sleep at night and alert and ready for anything during the day.
Sleeping tablets?
It is very easy to become dependent on sleeping tablets – they are not a good idea.
Some people find herbal drinks such as chamomile tea help them get to sleep. Others find a warm glass of milk useful.
Interesting facts
Want to know some interesting facts about sleep? Look at this site.
The National Sleep Research Project
http://www.abc.net.au/science/sleep/facts.htm
Resource
The Mayo Clinic 'Teen sleep: Why is your teen so tired?'
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/teens-health/CC00019
The information on this site should not be used as an alternative to professional care. If you have a particular problem, see a doctor, or ring the Youth Healthline on 1300 13 17 19 (local call cost from anywhere in South Australia).