大象传媒 Scotland - 大象传媒 Scotland - Why teenagers sleep 鈥檛il lunchtime 鈥� and how you can prevent it

Why teenagers sleep 鈥檛il lunchtime 鈥� and how you can prevent it

15 October 2018

It may drive their parents to distraction, but teenagers’ ability to sleep through the day is apparently not simply due to laziness.

According to Jane Ansell of Sleep Scotland, teenagers have a different physiological cycle which makes them feel sleepy much later at night, relatively, and which in turn results in them sleeping later into the morning.

Speaking on Personal Best she explained, “There’s a hormone called melatonin and in a teenager it arouses itself at a later stage. But there are methods of bringing it forward.”

How can we get teenagers to develop better sleep patterns?

Jane Ansell of Sleep Scotland suggests introducing a daily transition period.

Jane advised introducing a regular wind-down period into the evening.

“In the daytime you’re very active and you have to have a transition time towards night time. Slow down and have a bath so you’re transitioning the mind and the body towards getting to sleep.”

TV, phone and computer screens slow down the production of melatonin; removing them from your wind-down period will encourage sleep.

Exercise and fresh air during the daytime also help sleep come more easily.

“The day affects the night time and the night affects the day time; it’s important to remember that.”

Explore the eight body clock phases and take the quiz.