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Sleep deprived?

ONE OF THE very pivotal stages in our developmental process, according to Erickson a prominent social psychologist, is adolescence. This is a very difficult period, between 11-19 years old, often described as the period of ‘storm and stress’.

The experiences we have and the way we deal with conflict and growth in this phase will certainly affect the quality of relationships we have with family, friends and co-workers in the future.

The most important mission of adolescence is to gradually become ‘your own person’. Adolescents learn to make choices and commitments, follow through with them, and stand up independently in the world.

However this takes time and patience, both on the part of the adolescent and parents guiding them. But teenagers swing back and forth between dependence and independence as they work on these tasks. It’s easy for parents to get frustrated. And it’s easy for a parent to assume that if the teenager would simply follow the plan that makes sense to a parent, things would be all right in the end.

Unfortunately there is no right or wrong formula that should be followed. Each situation is as unique as the individual experiencing it.

One issue that is sometimes overlooked and more recently been found to be the leading cause of the much of the adjustment difficulties of adolescence is sleep loss.

As Dr Ronald Dahl, an associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, states “there is no shortage of epidemiological and clinical studies documenting recent increases in the rates of many psychiatric disorders among adolescents. Certainly many complex factors are likely to have contributed to the emotional and behavioural problems of teenagers, but the possible link to adolescent sleep patterns bears some scrutiny.”

Dahl and his group of colleagues have presented clear evidence that sleep loss can lead to the development or exacerbation of behavioral and emotional problems.

This research has had a significant impact on our understanding of adolescence and their psychological issues. Not just for parents but for doctors, teachers and policy makers in the field of medicine and education.

Accordingly the consequences that lack of sleep can have on adolescence has been put forth and briefly explained by Dr Dahl.

1. Sleepiness. This is the most direct consequence of adolescent sleep loss, and the most obvious signs are difficulty getting up on time for school and in falling asleep in school. These problems may lead to disagreement and arguments with parents and teachers. It can also result in slowed down mental and physical skills, causing accidents.

2. Tiredness. This is a symptom of sleep loss and includes changes in motivation—particularly difficulty initiating behaviours related to long-term or goals and decreased persistence in working toward goals.

3. Mood, attention, and behaviour. Sleep loss can have negative effects on the control of mood, attention, and behaviour. Irritability, moodiness, and low tolerance for frustration are the most often described symptoms in sleep-deprived adolescents. In some instances, sleepy teenagers are more likely to appear silly, impulsive, or sad.

4. Impact of emotional and behaviuoral problems. Emotional arousal and distress can cause both difficulty falling asleep and sleep disruptions. Behavioural problems and family chaos can add to even later bedtimes and to sleep schedules that are ever more incompatible with school schedules.

5. Bi-directional effects. Sleep loss can have a negative effect on mood and behaviour, which leads to subsequent emotional/behavioural difficulties that further interfere with sleep. This produces a sequence of negative effects in both areas. Severe cases have been reported where such negative spirals appear to be a pathway to withdrawal from school or serious psychiatric problems.

We have uncovered very significant information regarding the connection between sleep and adolescent emotional well being, however, much is still left to learn about the multitude of variables that need to work together to encourage a more healthy and functional experience during this complicated and sometimes tricky stage of development.

Parents need to consider more obvious points such as peer pressure and exposure to substances but at the same time value and remind our adolescence of the old saying by Benjamin Franklin, ‘Early to be bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.’

· Samineh I Shaheem is an author, an assistant professor of psychology, currently lecturing in Dubai, as well as a cross cultural consultant at the Human Relations Institute. She has appeared on numerous radio programs and conferences and has studied and worked in different parts of the world, including the United Sates of America, UK, Netherlands, and the UAE. Please forward your thoughts to OutOfMindContact@gmail.com.

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