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AMY WOLFSON |
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Bridging The Gap Between Research And Practice: What Will Adolescents' Sleep/Wake Patterns Look Like In The 21st Century AMY WOLFSON, Ph.D.  leep is an important facet of adolescent
development. This paper examines the
developmental changes and environmental
variables that disrupt and influence the
formation of sleep/wake schedules, sleep
behaviors and daytime sleepiness for
adolescents. Adolescence is a time of
important physical, cognitive, emotional, and
social change when the behaviors in one
developmental stage are constantly challenged
by new abilities, insights, and expectations
of the next stage. Sleep is a primary and
often ignored aspect of development affected
by these changes. The way adolescents sleep
critically influences their ability to think,
behave, and feel during school hours.
Likewise, daily schedules, changes in the
environment, and individual factors can have
significant effects on adolescents' sleeping
patterns. Over the last two decades, research
on adolescents' sleep has demonstrated that
school schedules, work hours, and other
environmental constraints are not beneficial
to adolescents' sleep schedules and
requirements (Carskadon, 1980; Carskadon, et
al., 1995; Wolfson and Carskadon, 1996). U.S.
teenagers are frequently absent or late for
school, spending more time working, watching
television and driving, and less time sleeping
(Carskadon, 1990; Comstock, 1991; Graham and
Hamden, 1987). In particular, laboratory data
demonstrates that adolescents have an
increased need for sleep and experience a
phase delay during puberty (Carskadon,
1980;1993). Survey and field studies, however,
indicate that adolescents obtain less sleep
than younger children. In fact, teenagers
develop a sleep debt by getting a minimal
amount of sleep on school nights and making up
for this by sleeping extra on the weekends
(Wolfson and Carskadon, 1996). This paper
provides an overview and analysis of our
current knowledge of adolescents' sleep/wake
patterns; looks at the impact of school
schedules and work hours for teenagers in the
U.S.; and discusses how adolescent sleep
researchers, community and school
administrators and policy makers must bridge
the research-pedagogical practice gap so that
adolescents can be alert (not sleep deprived)
and successful in school.
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