In a normal adult the circadian rhythms are in tune with the movement of the sun. The brain keeps track of the time of the day and as light comes through the retina, this activates they hypothalamus of the brain and sends a message to the pineal gland, which secretes a hormone called melatonin. Melatonin is what makes a person sleepy and increases production at night. After you have gotten enough sleep the brain tells your pineal gland to stop secreting melatonin, and as the level of the hormone drops, you wake up.
Beginning with puberty, the sleep cycle changes. The melatonin surge occurs later and later, and the melatonin drop occurs later. Therefore, we have adolescence that are alert until 11PM or midnight, but are dog tired in the morning. Since adolescence need about 9 ½ hours of sleep, the result is a nation of sleep deprived adolescents. They are short on sleep during the week because of school start times, and they sleep in during the weekend, further disrupting their sleep/wake cycle.
Socially, sleep deprivation in adolescents causes some to view them as lazy. Lack of alertness is a side effect of sleep deprivation, which is dangerous especially when driving. Physically, it can impair the function of their memory. It can also increase the amount of the stress hormone, cortisol, which can compromise the immune system. Sleep deprivation leads to an impaired ability to process glucose, which contributes to excess weight and obesity. Mood disorders also coincide with sleep deprivation. Feelings are more intense and they have less ability to curb and control their emotions. Some can also develop a sleep disorder called delayed sleep phase syndrome, which turns around their night and day.
1 comment:
I guess this why my daughters spent most of their weekends sleeping. I probably would have saved myself a lot of headaches by just letting them catch up on their sleep.
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