Indadequate sleep hygiene in adolescents

• the most common paediatric sleep-wake problem encountered by general practitioners
  • there are various reasons why inadequate sleep hygiene is a problem in adolescents (1)
  • teenagers are unable to fall asleep before 10 30 or 11 pm owing to a physiological shift in the timing of release of melatonin (which generally induces sleep at around 8 30 pm in preadolescence)
  • social factors e.g. after-school sports, evening jobs, television, internet use, mobile phones, and homework may delay bedtime on school nights to between 11 pm and midnight
  • drug-induced effects
    • caffeine, nicotine, and illicit drugs may also interfere with timely sleep onset
  • school day
    • adolescents may have to wake early in order to travel to school.
  • poor sleep hygiene in this group is in the context of teenagers needing 9-9.5 hours of sleep to maintain optimum alertness
• management consists primarily of counselling about sleep hygiene

Reference:

1. Kotagal S, Pianosi P. Sleep disorders in children and adolescents. BMJ 2006;332:828-32.