Keeping up with the daily schedule of a teenager can be exhausting.  However, they are often the ones who are truly suffering!

Recent studies have pointed out that many teens may have increased difficulty learning and experience behavioral and emotional problems because they may be chronically sleep-deprived.  However, the National Sleep Foundation has a number of tips for parents to ensure that their teens are getting enough sleep.

Signs of sleep deprivation and sleepiness in your adolescent are not always obvious.  Signs include difficulty waking in the morning, irritability late in the day, randomly falling asleep during the day, and sleeping for extended times on the weekends.  Sleepiness can also mimic attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (National Sleep Foundation, n.d.). 

Parents can and should enforce regular sleep routines for their teens, including a quiet time in the evening.  Talk to them about their levels of sleepiness and their sleep schedules. You may also need to look at the time they’re spending on after-school or work activities and make adjustments if necessary.

Encourage your teenager to keep a sleep diary for one or two weeks.  If you can’t seem to get them into a good sleep routine or they appear to be getting adequate sleep but still have difficulty staying awake during the day, you may want to consult a sleep expert.  And, finally, be a good role model.  Make sleep a high priority for the whole family in order to avoid the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.

1.  This document is FAR1219, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida.  Broadcast as program 530.  Published on EDIS March 2012.  In the interest of time and/or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified.  Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2. Donna Davis, senior producer, Family Album Radio, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

Listening, learning, and living together:  it’s the science of life.  “Family Album” is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, and of WUFT-FM.  If you’d like to learn more, please visit our website at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.  To listen to the radio broadcast:  http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/530.mp3 http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/530.wav

References

American Psychological Association. (2000, May).  Study suggests older, preteen children may not be getting enough sleep to meet their daily physical and mental needs.  Retrieved September 21, 2006, from http://www.apa.org/releases/sleep.html.

National Sleep Foundation. (n.d.) Teens and sleep:  Pointers for parents.  Retrieved September 21, 2006, from http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site/c.huIXKjM0IxF/b.2419119/k.794B/Pointers_for_Parents.htm.

Sahed, A., Raviv, A., and Gruber, R. (2000). Sleep patterns and sleep disruptions in school-age children.  Developmental Psychology, 36 (3), 291-301.

Transcribed from the Family Album Radio Program, a coproduction of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences and of WUFT-FM.  If you’d like to learn more, please visit our website at familyalbumradio.org.  Listening, learning, and living together: it’s the science of life.

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The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating.  Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean

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