Why Do Teens Sleep Till Noon?

By Taryn Tacher

Your daughter used to scurry to your bedroom door at a ripe 6 a.m. and peer inside at your sound asleep self. Without hesitation, her mouse-like tendencies would turn feline and she’d pounce โ€” jolting you awake in hopes that you’d play with her. Your son used to greet the sunrise with the boisterous vroom-vroom sounds he personified his toy cars with and the cantankerous chaos of a tumbling tower of blocks that would jostle you from your sweet slumber before your REM cycle could come to an appropriate stopping place. Now, the teens have transformed into the typical sleep-until-noon teenagers, whose slumber is not the least bit disrupted by the ping of the toaster that just finished preparing your breakfast or the news anchor voices exuding from the living room TV, broadcasting the morning’s latest updates. The roles have reversed. Your once up-before-the-sun children are now nowhere to be seen before midday โ€” and you are now the one tugging on their shirt sleeves to wake them up for school days or weekend plans.

You may chalk it up to laziness becauseย your teen stays up late watchingย unrealistic reality TV shows whileย simultaneously unleashing a phalangeย attack on the touchscreen of his or herย cellphone โ€” taking intermittent breaksย to snap selfies, check Instagram and postย a four-second story on Snapchat. But, theย truth is that biology is to blame for yourย teenโ€™s newfound wake-sleep schedule.

Our bodies secrete a hormone calledย melatonin, which regulates our wakesleepย cycle. For children, melatoninย secretions happen in the early evening,ย but as they mature into teenagers theyย release melatonin later and later. Becauseย they start going to sleep at a later time,ย they sleep in to compensate for thoseย missed early evening hours of shuteye.

Additionally, our bodies have their ownย internal clocks that operate on a 24-hourย cycle known as our circadian rhythm.ย The circadian rhythm is physical, mentalย and behavioral, and it determines whenย we feel awake and when we feel sleepy.ย Environmental and biological changesย can alter the time frames in our circadianย rhythm, and that is why teenagers go toย bed late and sleep in later. During ourย teenaged years, we experience puberty;ย our bodies begin to develop and transitionย from girl to woman, from boy to man.

Ideally, teenagers should be sleeping forย nine hours each night, but because ofย schoolwork, part-time jobs, heightenedย social lives, extracurricular activities andย distractions from new-aged technology,ย few teens actually meet their daily sleepย needs. Sleep deprivation is a legitimateย concern if it persists for an extendedย period of time. Lack of sleep can lead toย decreased concentration, mood swingsย and more.

So, next time you notice your teen stillย catching some Zโ€™s in the early afternoon,ย remember to let them sleep in. Growingย up is the culprit here!

Our bodies secrete aย hormone called melatonin,ย which regulates ourย wake-sleep cycle.ย For children, melatoninย secretions happen in theย early evening, but as theyย mature into teenagersย they release melatoninย later and later.

 

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