This document discusses sleep needs in adolescents and young adults. It summarizes that 45% of adolescents get less than 8 hours of sleep on school nights. It also discusses that screen time before bed is associated with delayed bedtimes and reduced sleep duration in teens. Later school start times would allow teens to get more sleep aligned with their circadian rhythms and biological sleep needs. While later start times have benefits like improved academic performance and health, they also present logistical challenges. The document advocates for educating parents and schools about promoting healthy sleep schedules and hygiene for teens.

1. Sleep in Adolescent
and Young Adults
Leila Kheirandish-Gozal, MD, MSc
Professor of Pediatrics
Director of Child Health Research Institute
School of Medicine
University of Missouri

2. 45% of adolescents get less than 8 hours of sleep on school nights

3. National Sleep Foundation. Sleep in America Poll:Teens and Sleep. 2006

4. National Sleep Foundation. Sleep in America Poll:Teens and Sleep. 2006

6. National Sleep Foundation. Sleep in America Poll:Teens and Sleep. 2006

7. Short MA, Gradisar M, Gill J, Camfferman D (2013) Identifying Adolescent Sleep Problems. PLoS ONE 8(9): e75301.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0075301

14. Teens, on average, spend more than 6.5 hours on screens.
67% of teens have their own smartphones. Mobile devices account
for 46% of all screen time for teens.
around 60% of adolescents report viewing or interacting with
screens in the hour before bedtime

15. Systematic review of 67 studies of screen time and media use in school-age youth and teenagers for 15
years, 90% found that screen time was adversely associated with sleep health, primarily via delayed
bedtimes and reduced sleep duration. (Hale & Guan. Sleep Med Rev. 2015)
Potential mechanisms :
Time displacement including sleep.(AAP Council on Communications and Media. Pediatrics.
2016)
Psychological stimulation based on media content (Gregory & Sadeh. . J Child Psychol
Psychiatry. 2015)
Effects of light emitted from devices on circadian timing, sleep
physiology, and alertness.(Cain & Gradisar . Sleep Med. 2010; Chang et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015)

16. National Sleep Foundation. Sleep in America Poll:Teens and Sleep. 2006

20. I am not sleepy at
bedtime at all!
Fell asleep way too
late…
Had to wake up
early
Ugh…
Was sleepy the whole
day…
Nothing helps
(caffeine/nap)
Da!
A teens miserable
cycle of life!

21. Teenagers are unable to fall asleep on time for school
( not before 10:45 p.m.)
Their brains remain in sleep mode until after school start time ( 8 a.m.)
This delay in the circadian rhythms is directly related to changes during
puberty.
An inconvenient truth about
teenagers!

22. Cant get up !
I’m Not sleepy
!
Go To sleep NOW Get UP NOW

23. What can be done?
Check for underlying biological sleep disorder.
Educate teachers, school health providers and parents about adolescent sleep needs and patterns.
Enforce and maintain age-appropriate sleep schedules.
Change of wake time to later and starting school later.
Adjust child schedules to allow for enough sleep.

25. Pros and Cons of later school start time
• Teens get the recommended amount of sleep.
• could help teens sleep during their natural
sleep/wake cycles.
• Teens may be less likely to depend on caffeine
to stay awake during the day.
• could help teens be more alert during the
school day, which could boost their academic
performance.
• Sleeping longer could reduce health-related
issues that accompany sleep deprivation.
• Getting home later in the afternoon may
reduce the amount of time some teens are
home alone, and could decrease the likelihood
teens will engage in unhealthy activities.
• Delaying junior high or high school start times
would likely impact the schedule for all schools
within a district.
• Teens would get out of school later in the
afternoons, which could pose problems for
teens who provide childcare to younger
siblings.
• Students who participate in sports and extra-
curricular activities would get home much later
in the evenings.
• Teens may stay up even later if they don't have
to wake for school at an earlier time.

26. The Economic Benefits of Later School Start Times in the U.S.
Using a novel macroeconomic modelling approach, the study estimated changes in the economic
performance of 47 U.S states following a delayed school start time of 8.30am, which includes the benefits
of higher academic performance of students and reduced car crash rates.
The benefits of later start times projects an economic gain of:
$8.6 billion in 2 years
$83 billion After 10 years
$140 billion After 15 years
Marco, Stepanek, and Troxel. Later school start times in the U.S.: An economic analysis. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2017

27. Allow and Support your teen in getting more sleep.
Teach your teen about appropriate sleep hygiene and talk about the benefits of
sleep.
Establish a “No Electronics Time” at least 60 minutes before bedtime.
Keep consistent schedule even on weekends and vacations.
Be realistic…
Parents Can Help

28. Thank you for your
attention