Teen Sleep
...a problem known as D.S.P.
If you have a teenager you will understand the problems associated with teen sleep. The adolescent
that is up at all hours and doesn't get to bed until two or three  in the morning and as a result doesn't awake until mid-morning. A teenager that
sleeps well but at odd hours: at least by society's standards.
One of the most misunderstood sleep disorders goes by the name of D.S.P. or Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder
(...sometimes Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome) and it happens to about 7% of teenagers.
It's actually one of a group of disorders known as
“Circadian Rhythm Disorders” which includes the following:
a...Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder...usually in the elderly.
b...Jet Lag Syndrome.
c...Shift Work Disorder.
d...Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder...most common in adolescents.
Circadian is Latin for "...around the day" and refers to the natural body cycle which maintains our “sleep
clock” but if our internal sleep clock is out of sync with the daily reality then problems arise.
All adolescents have a shift in their internal clock after puberty and this shifts sleeping times about 2 or 3
hours but this is more for those who have tended to go to bed later. This is not controlled behavior and nether is
it deliberate: the body demands it!
So we have teenagers (sometimes up to 30 years old) who stay up late and just can't sleep until two or three in
the morning but still need eight hours of sleep.This means getting up at ten o'clock in the morning, which of
course will not mesh with societies time schedules. Late for school, late for work, tiredness and morning
troubles.
It's the disorder in teenagers where “...go to bed earlier and you will get up on time!” may not be true. Some
teenagers cannot go to sleep earlier but still need the full compliment of sleep time. They have no difficulty
sleeping, just sleeping at “societies” right time.
Interestingly, research about high school attendance and timetabling has prompted much discussion about starting
times. It has been suggested that more teenagers would be successful in the morning times if schools were in
session from ten to four or ten thirty to four thirty rather than eight or nine until three! Unfortunately society
refuses to even consider such changes and steadfastly adheres to the nine to five syndrome. Teenagers with D.S.P.
will not fit this structure however hard they try.
Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder is difficult to diagnose as there are no set tests and so it has to be diagnosed by
'description' only. Not only that but it is very difficult to treat as the teenager concerned must be motivated to
do it. They must want to change and work to achieve it, and this is often a problem.
There are two phases of treatment for this 'teen
sleep':
a...Improving Sleep Hygiene...shutting down TV and games early, darkening the room, making the bedroom a
quiet, clean space, making bedtime a specific timed event etc. etc.
b...Internal Clock Adjustment...this could be advancement of bedtime by 15 minutes each night i.e.
bringing it forward by 15 minutes every few days until a more normal sleep time is achieved. It could also be
delayed by 15 minutes so gradually going to bed later and later until the right time (the following day) is
achieved.(...known as chronotherapy) In fact it is easier for the body to adjust to a later bedtime than an
earlier one!
There are also a few other items that can be helpful. Using a very bright light first thing in the morning for
30 minutes often helps in re-setting the body clock. (The reverse is true at night of course!)
Another is a small dose of melatonin a few hours before bed. It is known that teens with D.S.P. tend to release
melatonin later than other people and as we all have a part of the brain that releases this naturally before we
sleep, taking a small amount of synthetic melatonin at the onset of darkness usually starts the natural production.
Remember, teenagers naturally have a melatonin delay of two or three hours anyway!
There are also sleeping pills such as Rozerem (Ramelteon) used in re-scheduling the sleep cycles timing. Rozerem
is the only non-scheduled prescription drug for the treatment of insomnia and DSP in the U.S. It is supposed to be
a good sleep agent and has no dependence .
If you have a teenager that stays up late, sleeps well and yet doesn't get up until late, you may start
considering the possibility of Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder. This de-synchronization between the biological clock
and the external environment causes a lot of friction. Teen sleep is often a delayed sleep and this may
be uncontrollable. Understand it and talk to a doctor.
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