Posted by Brian on December 23, 1997 at 15:42:04:

In Reply to: Sleeps Affect on Teens posted by Kim Wedeking on December 22, 1997 at 19:02:21:

Hi Kim,
A worthy question!
Sleep deprivation affects teens in much the same way as it affects any age group. That is if normal sleep requirements for any individual are not met, the following may be expected:
Hypersomnolence--excessive sleepiness during normal wake time
Cognitive impairment--lessening of ability to remain focused, as in attention deficit disorder; and memory impairment, usually short-term memory, increased tendency toward anxiety
Behavioral changes--usually irritability or depression, sometimes hyperactivity (I recently did a sleep study on a 16 year-old who had a history of multiple behavioral difficulties, including antisocial behaviors which had carried her into the court system and incarceration, who, upon treating her sleep disorder experienced changed waking behavior remarkably for the better, and improved waking function to where she is happy and more well adjusted, as are her most grateful family.)
These effects can be expected to occur regardless of the type of sleep disturbance, including poor sleep hygiene. If the person suffers from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), the following can also occur:
Headaches--in OSA, there can be oxygen deprivation to the brain, often in multiple (i.e. hundreds) occurences per sleep period, resulting in hangover-like symptoms
High blood pressure--repeated engagement of the sympathetic nervous system ("fight or flight" response) in order to rescue the person from O2 starvation of the brain, can result in increased baseline levels of stress associated with the maintainence of readiness to rescue. The cardinal sign of OSA is snoring, caused by the forcing of air through the narrowed upper airway.
Recent studies on sleep patterns of teens suggests that their circadian patterns put their sleep onset relatively late in the night and wake time later in the morning, making mornings more difficult for teens even when adequate sleep is possible.
If sleep deprivation is simply a matter of choice of lifestyle, the effects can usually be eliminated by returning the individual to optimim circadian cycles, but if the individual's sleep is disturbed by insomnia (the term refers to a group of diagnoses which disrupt sleep, such as insomnia, OSA with frequent arousals from sleep and/or oxygen desaturation and cardiac changes, REM disorders such as somnambulism (sleep walking), somniloquy (talking in sleep), night terrors/hypnogogic hallucinations which may be associated with narcolepsy or post traumatic stress disorder,) such sleep disorders should be investigated and, when indicated, treatment prescribed by a physician which will correct the disorder, or minimize its effects.
A very cursory discussion. Thanks for the opportunity to respond,
Brian

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