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Home › Articles › Health › Raising Night Owls

Raising Night Owls

How to Save Your Teen from Sleep Deprivation

By Kelly Burgess

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My son was never a morning person. That wasn't a problem when he was very young, because I could have him in afternoon preschool and kindergarten. Even elementary school wasn't too bad because school didn't start until 9 a.m., and little boys don't need a lot of time to get ready.

Then came middle school. All of a sudden, he had to get up at 6:30 a.m. to catch a bus in the dark to be at school by 7:30. Worse yet, this was after a long, lazy summer of getting up midmorning and staying up until whenever. In addition, there was basketball.

Now, two years later, the only thing that's changed is when he starts high school, he'll have to leave half an hour earlier. This is a trend that, sleep experts say, is moving in the wrong direction.

The Teen Biological Clock
The problem my son has of being a natural night owl is exacerbated by some natural changes that occur during adolescence. Years of research in the area of sleep have conclusively shown that as children enter their teen years, they need more sleep than they did in elementary school, not less.

Dr. Richard Simon, director of the Kathryn Severens Dements Sleep Disorders Center in Walla Walla, Wash., has extensive experience on the subject of teens and sleep both as a doctor and a father. He explains that this need for increased sleep is complicated by the fact that teenagers have other issues that keep them from getting enough sleep such as sports, jobs and a social life. This leads to a vicious circle that leaves teens in a constant state of sleep deprivation that Simon believes is responsible for much of the negative behavior often associated with teenagers.

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