Teen Health Teens and School

Teens may be hardwired to sleep late


When puberty hits, the bodies of adolescents go through lots of changes. One of these is that their internal body clock shifts about two hours. This means that while getting up at 8 am is fine for a 10-year-old, his 14-year-old brother is much more comfortable rising at 10 am. This change is particularly difficult for teens since school often starts earlier the older a child gets. Similarly while turning out the lights and falling asleep at 10 pm may be easy for a pre-teen, many teens aren't ready to fall asleep until two hours later. Most teens can adjust, but there are those who have delayed sleep phase syndrome, where they can't fall asleep until very late in the evening and are unable to rouse themselves till well after the school bell rings. For those teens, visiting a sleep specialist may be appropriate. As teens enter adulthood, their body clock will gradually shift back.