• Teens sleep poorly because of natural physiological changes, but also too much media consumption and worsening mental health since Covid.
  • The consequences of a sleep deficit in teens are multiple: decreased concentration, memory problems, mood changes...
  • To fall asleep better, you should leave your phone outside the bedroom and plan quiet time outside your bed to listen for sleep signals.

Sleep is an increasingly recurring problem among teenagers: at the origin of physical and psychological disorders, sleeping well is essential. In this regard, the Maison des adolescents de Nantes is organizing this Thursday a public conference on the sleep of adolescents, on the occasion of the 23rd International Sleep Day on Friday, March 17. Dr. Laurene Leclair-Visonneau, a neurologist specializing in sleep and head of the Sleep Center at Nantes University Hospital, co-hosts this conference, entitled "Sleep: a story to sleep upright?". For 20 Minutes, she explains the causes and consequences of poor sleep in teens.


Do teens sleep badly?

There are natural physiological changes in adolescence that naturally cause a reduction in sleep. Teens have the impression of sleeping less well because their sleep is less heavy than before, we talk about sleep maturation. There is a large percentage of teens who have sleep disorders: it is in the order of 15-20%. On top of that, nearly one in three teens complain of drowsiness during the day. The prevalence of sleep pathologies is significant among teenagers.

Are there factors that amplify the phenomenon?

There are several factors that aggravate sleep deprivation. Media consumption, of course. This decreases sleep time and leads to chronic sleep deprivation. According to the National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance (INSV), 80% of French people are concerned by nocturnal awakenings. Among teens, we can imagine that mobile phone notifications during the night reinforce this phenomenon.

Post-covid, we have a worsening of mental health in adolescents that plays an important role. Sleep is multidimensional: an anxiety disorder or depressive symptoms result in sleep disorders. Insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, early awakenings, increased need for sleep... The consequences are many.

Do teens have the same sleep needs as adults?

Average sleep requirements gradually decrease with advancing age. At 10, it's about 10 hours; At 13 it is 9 hours, in adolescents it is between 8 and 9 hours while in adults it is between 7 and 8 hours. There are degrees of variability among individuals: if you do a lot of sports, you will of course need more sleep. Growing people naturally need more sleep than adults, but there is a decrease with age: there is no particular rebound in adolescence.

What are the consequences of a sleep deficit in teens?

A sleep deficit has consequences for everyone. But for the teenager, it is perhaps even more poignant because he is in the learning phase: academic skills suffer, which can lead to academic delay. Lack of sleep affects concentration, memorization, mood, drowsiness.

There are also metabolic consequences: an appetite for fatty and sweet food, therefore an increased risk of weight gain. It also increases the consumption of stimulants: coffee, tobacco... If we compare it to driving, after 24 hours of sleep debt, the performance is equivalent to 0.8 grams of alcohol! Sleep deprivation also worsens mental health, it is a vicious circle: there is more risk of relapse after depression, more risk of suicide. Not getting enough sleep potentiates the severity of psychiatric pathology.

What advice would you give to a teenager to make it easier to fall asleep?

You have to leave the laptop outside the room. Ideally, you should not use your phone after dinner. Between a teenager who sleeps with his laptop and a teenager who leaves it outside, there is a difference of 45 minutes on the time to fall asleep. When parents give instructions on bedtimes, there are much fewer sleep disorders among teens. It's not so bad that adults are on the backs of their children!

It is necessary to have a quiet corner in the room that is not his bed, so as not to associate it with awakening activities. Then, reading or quiet music allow you to wait to feel the sleep signals. Itchy eyes, yawns, decreased concentration: as soon as these signs appear, you have to go to bed within 10-15 minutes! If we miss this sleep train, the desire to sleep returns in cycles, an hour and a half later.

Does body temperature play a role in falling asleep?

Do not heat your bed. We have a low temperature in the night between 3am and 5am, then it rises until 21pm, before starting to go down. It is during this drop in body temperature that we fall asleep. So if you've been trying to sleep in a heated bed for hours, with your computer on your thighs while watching a series, it's the worst thing to do!

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