Running Header: ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT AND SLEEP NEEDS 1

Adolescent Development and Teen Sleep Needs

Zachary T. Regan

Arizona State University

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Abstract

This paper will discuss how teen sleep is affected in today’s age of technology. With adolescents

being more readily available to screens, social media, and technology in general, we will explore

how this affects the sleep cycle of an average adolescent. This paper will also investigate why it

is important for adolescents to get enough and proper sleep. We will look at how a student in

middle or high school can get enough sleep and some possible reforms into our education system

that could help with their sleep and overall development. Students with an insufficient amount of

sleep is becoming more and more prevalent in schools. This is affecting their learning and is

impacting how they develop throughout puberty; the most important part of a person life from a

developmental view point (YOU-WEI YAN, RONG-MAO LIN, YAN-KUI SU, & MING-YAN

LIU. 2018).

Importance of Sleep

Good sleep is widely regarded as the basis of adolescent health during their development.

It promotes brain activity, increase metabolism, and boost overall mood in a person (Ashworth,

A., Hill, C. M., Karmiloff-Smith, A., & Dimitriou, D., 2015).

Impacts on Sleep

Technology. Many teenagers have become so conditioned to use their phones for social

networking. Lynette Vernon states that young adults believe that their phones are their private

device for communicating with peers and it is their right to use it for that purpose. As they stay

awake and use their devices late at night, their sleep is disrupted before it started. Having

disrupted sleep has shown to cause mood swings, depression, and self-esteem issues. All these

factors contribute to a less then satisfying academic performance throughout the year (Vernon, L.
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, Modecki, K. L. and Barber, B. L. 2018). Hormones in adolescents will fluctuate and be more

uncontrolled if their sleep is disrupted from certain frequencies of light that is emitted by devices

that causes obesity, depression and self-esteem problems (Amador A, Huitron-Resendiz S,

Roberts AJ, Kamenecka TM, Solt LA, Burris TP 2016).

School Start Times. If adolescents are staying awake later in the night, then that means

the time they must sleep is being shortened already. With school start times being as early as 7

o’clock in some school districts, a lot of these students are getting less hours then the average

adolescent which is 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep and that is still less then 9 to 9.5 hours which is the

recommended amount of sleep a teenager needs to develop in a healthy manor (Yan et al., 2018).

Pushing back school start times would give the students more time to sleep and teachers more

time to prepare in the morning. The downside to this would be after school activities and

transportation would be affected and the students would have less time to do homework and

spend time with their loved ones.

Stress. Yan et al. (2018) discusses the outcomes of academic stress and how that stress

affects sleep and development. In their study they looked at the correlation of academic stress,

sleep quality and depression. There was a positive correlation between all areas of study meaning

that sleep quality was affected by the stress of the students’ academics which then correlated to

the mood being affected due to sleep quality. With a good portion of students engaging in

extracurricular activities, the time they get to do homework, eat dinner, spend time with family

and get personal time is already very short. This short window to fit all their responsibilities can

also impact an adolescent’s stress levels according to Yan et al. (2018).

Conclusion
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Adolescents need sleep. It is crucial to get proper sleep for their mental health and

metabolism to keep them physically healthy as well. I believe a lot of the problems with sleep

deprivation can be taught. Telling a teenager to not do something is as good as encouraging

them. If we as a community can come together to educate adolescents about the affects of sleep

and its importance in their lives they will develop in a healthier way and gain life skills that can

be used for the rest of their lives. If we can add even a half hour to the average of sleep an

adolescent gets, that could make a huge difference in school performance and overall mood.

Parents need to get involved within their child’s lives and make sure their doing everything in

moderation.
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References

YOU-WEI YAN, RONG-MAO LIN, YAN-KUI SU, & MING-YAN LIU. (2018). The

Relationship between Adolescent Academic Stress and Sleep Quality: A Multiple

Mediation Model. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 46(1), 63–

78. https://doi-org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/10.2224/sbp.6530

Ashworth, A., Hill, C. M., Karmiloff-Smith, A., & Dimitriou, D. (2015). The Importance of

Sleep: Attentional Problems in School-Aged Children With Down Syndrome and

Williams Syndrome. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 13(6), 455–471. https://doi-

org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/10.1080/15402002.2014.940107

Vernon, L. , Modecki, K. L. and Barber, B. L. (2018), Mobile Phones in the Bedroom:

Trajectories of Sleep Habits and Subsequent Adolescent Psychosocial Development.

Child Dev, 89: 66-77. doi:10.1111/cdev.12836

Amador A, Huitron-Resendiz S, Roberts AJ, Kamenecka TM, Solt LA, Burris TP (2016)

Pharmacological Targeting the REV-ERBs in Sleep/ Wake Regulation. PLoS ONE 11(9):

e0162452. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0162452