Adjustment to high school - what's normal what's not?

Parents Forum
21

A high school student not getting enough sleep is a tough one to manage as a parent, and certainly is tough for the child. I can sympathize. We had a lot of talks about sleep when my DD was in high school. I was torn between letting her find independence and manage her own life and time as much as possible, but was also aware that she still needed guidance and wasn’t always able to make the best decisions for herself yet.

The adolescent brain undergoes a massive amount of growth and change during the high school years. The prefrontal cortex continues to have numerous changes at this time. These changes impact the development of impulse control and streamline and refine executive function, along with many other functions. Good sleep hygiene is extremely important and the lack of it could have long term effects, if the lack of sleep is ongoing. 9-10 hours of sleep is recommended for this age group. Many, many of the kids at my DD’s high performing school did not come even close to being able to get this most nights. I am of the opinion that this lack of sleep during these crucial brain development years is partially responsible for the ever rising crisis of depression and anxiety among students who may also be totally stressed out and constantly busy. This year children at high performing schools were put in the category of “at risk” along with other groups, including kids living in poverty and foster care, recent immigrants and those with incarcerated parents. Our children are paying the price for all of this cortisol running through them, and it is up to us as parents and as a society, to help bring those levels down. Easier said than done, I know.

For what it’s worth, DD is now a sophomore in college and last month told me on the phone that she almost always gets 8 hours per night now, as she has found she cannot function optimally without that. Hearing that almost makes all of those talks in the past worth it! I would try to get to the bottom of why they aren’t sleeping enough, and do whatever is in your power to help them figure it out.

22

Monitoring sleep hours, like checking eating patterns and intervening if the child doesn’t eat enough and loses weight, is an essential parental duty. A minimum of 9 hours is needed for his age group.
Taking the phone away/turning off the wifi at, say, 9, may help. Blue light keeps the brain awake.
Perhaps only instrumental music in the evenings?

23

Freshman year my son’s school started at 7am. I kid you not. In seats at 7am. The bus came at 6:20. This was a killer as my son truly had the teenage clock of not being able to fall asleep at night and wanting to sleep in the AM.

If I had to do it all over again, the cell phone would be turned in to me by 8:30 and no screen time after 9:00 at the latest. All of this screen interaction is hurting our kids and we aren’t really talking about it to the level we should.

I would also try Melatonin. We had a little success with that.

24

7am! At this age kids can’t function properly till 9 or so at a minimum, the various physical functions aren’t working. I would seriously have excused my child from first period and launched a PTA action.