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TIRED TEENAGERS
     

Just as predictable as school starting each fall are the calls from parents about their teenagers being tired all the time. "Could there be a physical problem?" we are asked. The teen is brought to the office for an exam, and invariably no medical problems are found. So why is this high school student always complaining of being tired, needing naps after school, and ironically unable to fall asleep at bedtime?

The first problem facing the high school student is the challenge of waking up at 6 a.m. to get to school by 7. High school starts very early. In nearly all districts it starts earlier than junior high or elementary schools. Then the teen may be involved in sports, after school activities or a job that runs right up to dinner and sometimes beyond. Throw in some down-time watching TV or listening to music, talking on the phone and socializing with friends - oh, and don't forget time for homework - like your teenager sometimes does. With these busy schedules, the average teen has problems getting to bed before 11 p.m., and that leaves only 7 hours for sleep before starting all over again at 6 a.m.

Often the teen complains of being tired but is still not able to fall asleep, resulting in even less sleep at night. Let's also look at what the teen's weekend looks like - staying up late, often well past midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, and then sleeping past noon.

Before we get to the solutions, we need to know that the average teen continues to need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night. That's 56 to 70 hours a week. It's probably better to think about this sleep requirement as a minimum amount one has to deposit in the "sleep bank". If the teen gets only 45 or 50 hours during the week, there's a penalty to pay, which persists until the shortfall is repaid. That's why teens need to sleep those 12 hour nights on weekends and take naps after school - to make up for the sleep lost during the week. If the debt is not repaid, the teen may suffer from fatigue, irritability and a fall-off in school performance.

It is also hard to fall asleep at night when bedtime and especially when the time one awakens changes from day to day. Most bodies and minds need to stay in a regular diurnal rhythm or pattern of sleep and awakening to function at its best. Now you have a teenager complaining of being tired but still unable to fall asleep.

The suggestions below will help most teens fall asleep better and feel better after getting up in the morning.

SUGGESTIONS

  • Wake up at the same time every morning. Try to get up at 6 a.m. on school days, and sleep only a little later on weekends. This helps one to fall asleep at the same time each night.
  • Have a regular bedtime routine. Begin getting ready - change clothes, clean up, brush teeth, read a book or listen to quiet music and then turn out the lights at the same time.
  • Avoid caffeine drinks. Stay off regular cola, stick to decaffeinated. Or better yet, drink water and fruit juices.
  • Have a glass of milk at bedtime. There's real science behind the common belief that milk and cookies help one fall asleep. Milk has lots of tryptophan, an amino acid that increases the amount of other chemicals in the brain that help to bring on sleep.
  • Avoid high energy activities in the late evening. When the body is pumped up by adrenaline after a game or playing vigorously, it needs a lot of time to settle down again.
  • Listen to a relaxation tape designed to promote sleep. These are available at the library and many drug or health food stores. They can be very helpful, but one needs to use them regularly.
  • Last but perhaps most out of your control - petition your school district to start high school later in the day, after elementary or junior high school starts. Younger children have fewer distractions and can usually be put to bed early enough to get the sleep they need and be well rested even with an earlier start to the school day.
  • There is little support for the use of over the counter drugs to improve sleep in teenagers. These drugs are likely to be ineffective, may cause side effects and get the teen thinking that a drug is needed to solve every problem.
If your child is having sleep problems that can't be solved with these simple measures, perhaps a visit to the doctor's office is needed. There may be other issues such as depression, anxiety or other sleep disorders causing the problem.

And remember not to worry that your otherwise well child has a serious medical problem just because he needs a nap after school. He's just repaying his debt.
 
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