Most teen don’t get enough sleep, but that’s usually because they’re overloaded and tend to skimp on sleep. But sleep problems can keep some teens awake at night even when they want to sleep.

 Over time, those nights of missed sleep (whether they’re caused by a sleep disorder or simply not scheduling enough time for the necessary ZZZ’s) can build into a sleep deficit. People with a sleep deficit are unable to concentrate, study, and work effectively. They can also experience emotional challenges like depression.

 What really happens when I close my eyes at night…?   

You don’t notice it, of course, but while you’re asleep, your brain is still active. As people sleep, their brains pass through five stages of sleep. Together, stages 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep make up a sleep cycle. One complete cycle lasts about 90 to 100 minutes. So during an average night’s sleep, a person will experience about four or five sleep cycles.

 Stages 1 and 2 are periods of light sleep from whcih a person can easily be awakened. During these stages, eye movements slow down and eventually stop, heart and breathing rates slow down, and body temprature decreases. Stages 3 and 4 are deep sleep stages. It’s more difficult to awaken someone during these stages, and when awakened, a person will often feel groggy and disoriented fro a few minutes. Stages 3 and 4 are the most refreshing of the sleep stages -  it is this type of sleep that we crave when we are very tired.

 The final stage of the sleep cycle is known as REM sleep because of the rapid eye movements that occure during this stage. During REM sleep, other physical changes take place – breathing becomes rapid, the heart beats faster, and the limb muscles don’t move. This is the stage of sleep when a person has the most vivid dreams.

 Do all teens have trouble sleeping…? 

 Research shows that teen need 8 1/2 to more than 9 hours of sleep at night. You don’t need to be a math whiz to figure out that if you wake up for school at 6:00am, you’d have to go to bed at 9:00pm to reach the 9-hour mark. Studies have found that many teens have trouble falling asleep that early, though. It’s not because they don’t want to go to sleep; it’s because their brains naturally work on later schedules and aren’t ready for bed.                                                                                                                               During adolescence, the body’s circadian rhythm (sort of like an internal biological clock) is reset, telling a teen to fall asleep later at night and wake up later in the morning. This change in the circadian rhythm seems to be due to the fact that the brain hormone melatonin is producted later at night in teens than it is for kids and adults, making it harder for teen to fall asleep. Sometimes this delay in the sleep-wake cycle is so severe that it affects a person’s daily functioning. In those cases its called delayed sleep phase syndrome.

 Changes in the body clock aren’t the only reason teens lose sleep, though. Lots of people have insomnia- trouble falling asleep. The most common cause of insomnia is stress.  But all sorts of things can lead to insomnia, including physical discomfort (the stuffy nose of a cold or the pain of a headache, for example), emotional troubles (like family problems or relationship difficulties), and even an uncomfortable sleeping environment (a room that’s too hot, cold, or noisy).                                             It’s common for everyone to have insomnia from time to time. But if insomnia lasts for a month or longer with not relief, then doctors consider it chronic. Chronic insomnia can be caused bu a number of different problems, including medical conditions, mental-health problems, medication side effects, or substance abuse. People with chronic insomina can often get help for their condition from a doctor, therapist, or other counselor.  For some people, insomnia can be made worse by worrying about the insomnia itself. A brief period of insomnia can build into something longer lasting when a person becomes anxious about not sleeping or worried about feeling tired the next day. Doctors call this psychophysiologic insomnia.

  What shoud I do…?    

If you think you’re getting enough rest at night and you’re still feeling tired during the day, it’s a good idea to visit your doctor. Excessive tiredness can be caused by all sorts of health problems, not just difficulties with sleep.  If your doctor suspects a sleep problem, he or she will look at your overall health and sleep habits. In addition to doing a physical examination, the doctor will take your medical history by asking you about any concerns and symptoms you have, your past health, your family’s health, any medications your taking, any allergies you may have, and other issues you can think of. The doctor may also do tests to find out whether any conditions – such as obstructive sleep apnea – might be interfring with your sleep. Different sleep problems are treated differently. Some can be treated with medications, whereas others can be helped by special techniques such as light therapy (where someone site in front of a lightbox for a certain amound of time each day) or othr practices that can help reset person’s body clock.

  Doctors also enourage teens to make lifestyle changes that promote good sleeping habits!  You probably know that caffeine can keep you awake, but many teens dont realize that playing video games or watching TV before bed can do the same thing!