Studies suggest teens face “epidemic” of sleep problems

American teenagers don’t get enough sleep these days, and author Lisa L. Lewis refuses to ignore the issue.

Lewis, a mother of two, helped create the nation’s first law requiring healthy school start times for teens — a law that will be put into action in California later this summer.

Her upcoming book, “Sleep Deprived Teens: Why Our Teens Are So Tired and How Parents and Schools Can Help Them,” will be released June 7 and details many things parents and caregivers need to know about teens and sleep. .

Lewis shared why sleep is so important for teens, how much sleep teens should get, and why they need more sleep than adults.

She addresses all the factors that can negatively affect teen sleep: technology, gender, sexual identity, and socioeconomic status, to start with a few.

THE CNN recently spoke with Lewis to discuss his work and learn more about how parents and caregivers can get more sleep for their children.

CNN: What led you to write a book about teens and sleep?

Lisa Lewis : The whole issue of teen sleep and school start times hit my radar when my oldest son, who is now in college, entered high school. At that point, school started at 7:30 am and I knew it was too early. I was taking him to school at the time, and every morning I would look over and see that he wasn’t very awake. Every afternoon he came home really exhausted.

I wanted to know why school started so early. What I discovered was that I had touched on a much bigger problem. That same month, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a baseline report on school start times, which came on the heels of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ policy statement on the same issue. His recommendations were that regular and high school education should not start before 8:30 am. That’s what got me involved.

CNN: So why do teenagers need so much sleep?

Lewis : At the onset of puberty, teenagers have a change in their circadian rhythm and their biological clocks shift to a later time. It also connects to the release of melatonin, which is what prepares our bodies for sleep.

When children become teenagers, melatonin starts to be released later than it used to. That means teens aren’t ready to fall asleep until 11pm. Because the same melatonin doesn’t kick in until later, teens end up wanting more sleep than they used to. So they sleep more.

CNN: How Much Sleep Should Teenagers Get?

Lewis : Most teens should sleep between eight and 10 hours, according to the National Sleep Foundation (USA). The amount of sleep we need throughout our lives changes, however. When you look at kids 13 and under – so pre-teens – they need nine to 11 hours. The recommended range for adults is seven to nine hours.

There are some teenagers and adults for whom less than the prescribed amount will be fine. There are also some teenagers for whom 10 hours will be what they need. Unfortunately, many of our teens don’t even have eight hours.

Data from the CDC indicates that in 2007, only 31% of teens slept eight hours or more. In 2019, that number dropped to 22%. We are in a teen sleep deprivation epidemic.

CNN: What are the consequences of teenagers not getting enough sleep?

Lewis : Sleep for teens is an emotional buffer and provides emotional resilience. The population in this age range is going through a major phase of brain development, and sleep is where a lot of that development takes place.

In the classroom, students who sleep during explanation are not learning. Students who are there and not fully awake are not learning well. Sleep deprivation limits students from acquiring information, prevents information retention, and hinders the ability to retrieve that information.

Several studies have indicated that when schools move to later start times, they see improvements in attendance and graduation rates increase.

With sports, sleep improves performance; In addition, teenagers’ bodies release growth hormone, which heals the injury when they sleep, so being well-rested is a competitive advantage.

In general, well-rested teenagers are happier and healthier and do better in school. They are emotionally more resilient. And they are easier to live with.

CNN: Besides schedules, what are other external factors that can disrupt teenagers’ sleep?

Lewis : The stress is enormous. If your kids can’t sleep before 11pm, you need to check to see if they are overworked or overscheduled. Technology is another factor. If you have a teenager who stays up until 1am or 2am playing video games, this is also decreasing their sleep time. There are other factors. Menstrual cramps can affect sleep.

We know that sexual and gender minority teens sleep worse than their peers, as do black teens. There are also other factors, such as living in crowded environments, or where it’s noisy or where teenagers don’t feel safe, that can affect sleep.

CNN: How do you think the chaos of the pandemic years has affected teenagers’ sleep?

Lewis : I think the biggest problem is mental health. We’ve seen all the major groups sounding alarm bells about teen mental health. In December, the US Surgeon General issued a special advisory on teen mental health. The CDC released new data last month showing that mental health has worsened in teenagers.

CNN: How can parents and caregivers convince teens that they need more sleep?

Lewis : Teaching them doesn’t have the expected effect. Having a conversation is more helpful, especially if it’s an ongoing conversation. Model good behaviors, such as not using technology within an hour of bedtime. Teach them about things like a relaxation routine. Our brains aren’t like computers – you don’t just turn it off, hit the pillow and go to sleep. One thing that is important is not to force any of this.

CNN: At what point did your project expand to help those in need?

Lewis : They walked hand in hand. After those big reports came out, I wrote an opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times the following fall about why schools should start later in the morning.

This article was read by California state senator Anthony Portantino, who also had it on his agenda. He began investigating and introduced a bill on class start times in February 2017.

I contacted a national nonprofit called Start School Later and started a local project. As the project progressed, I ended up testifying before the state education commission. It was a lengthy process that culminated in Governor Gavin Newsom signing the bill in 2019.

CNN: Why is this new law significant?

Lewis : The new law takes effect on July 1, and is the first of its kind in the country to require healthy start times for high school classes. It specifies that for regular public schools, start times cannot be earlier than 8:00 am, and for high schools, start times cannot be earlier than 8:30 am.

Similar laws elsewhere have proved successful. Up until this point, the biggest city to change its start times is Seattle; they did this in 2016. The city did all this research before and after this change, and they found that students got an extra 34 minutes of sleep on school nights when start times were delayed. That’s huge.

CNN: What are the big questions you will be asking next?

Lewis : So far, California is the only state that has enacted a law of this scope. This leaves plenty of room to work with other states out there.

As of now, both New York and New Jersey have active bills on this subject, but no other state has passed such a law. There is tremendous opportunity to do this in every other state; Teenage sleep deprivation isn’t just a California problem. This is something I’m going to focus on a lot.