Summary: The Influence Of Sleep In Adolescents

The phrase “sleep is for the weak” is commonly heard but is anything but true. In fact, sleep keeps us from being weak in all aspects of our lives. Although sleep is an “important influence on well-being”, adolescents often fall short of how many hours of sleep their bodies need to maintain optimal health (Santrock, 2016, p. 259). Adolescence is the developmental period beginning at ages 10 to 12 and ending at approximately 18 to 22 years old when many changes are occurring (Santrock, 2016, p. 249). Adolescents are faced with puberty, changing friendships, pressure from peers, homework and transitions between schools, leaving home for the first time, and many other challenges that can cause them to be stressed and to lead busy lives. With so much commotion, it is difficult for teenagers to find time enough to sleep. Not only do academics and social pressures make going to …show more content…
Taking naps and oversleeping in the mornings can reset one’s biological cycle, creating an irregular sleep cycle, making sleep harder to come by at night (Wolfson, 2003). The best sleep cycles are said to be those that revolve around the natural daylight hours, so the most efficient way to have natural circadian rhythms is to spend as many hours as possible in the sun (King, 2010). This can be a difficult task for teenagers when they are expected to wake up before the sun rises to go to school where they sit indoors all day, only to return home to spend hours doing homework or engage in other social, spiritual, or family activities. With so many responsibilities, the body accumulates stress, which sleep is used to regulate. Lack of sleep creates higher stress levels causing people to “have more trouble paying attention to tasks and solving problems” and is associated with a lowered immune system (King,