Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome of Teenagers - Essay Example

Kids Are Sleepy In School Because the Electronic Media in Their Bedrooms Cause Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome Student’s Name Student Institution Kids Are Sleepy In School Because the Electronic Media in their Bedrooms Cause Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome Delayed sleep phase syndrome or disorder is a medical syndrome that affects the timing of sleep, the peak periods of alertness, the rhythm of the body temperature, hormonal and alsoother rhythms in comparison with the general population and the societal requirements that are set by the medical society (Kripke et al., 2008). Delayed sleep phase syndrome usually involves undesirable late bed times and also early rising times. It therefore leads to early night insomnia and poor alertness in the morning hours. Sleep can be said to be the periodic state that features the suspension of consciousness and the essentiality of sleeping humans cannot be over emphasized. It is the most important thing that people should do each day because it gives the body a chance to replenish itself so that it has a better chance of serving its living function. Children and young adolescents have been observed to be sleepy at school and this can be associated to lack of enough sleep during the night time. They are usually sleepy during their classes usually in the morning and afternoon hours (Jackson Brown & Pardun, 2008). According to Gradisar, Gardner and Dohnt (2011), children and adolescents require up to more than 9 hrs of sleep during the nighttime to eliminate the frequency of sleep disorders that attack them frequently. Various researches have been carried out to find out the causes for sleepiness in the children and the young adolescents during school hours and the results found have associated this primarily to delayed sleep phase syndrome and the presence and usage of electronic media by the youth in their bedrooms. Delayed sleep phase syndrome has been found to mostly develop in early childhood and adolescence stages. Children usually develop their sleep patterns when they are infants and even before their birth (Kripke et al., 2008). The infants usually alternate between numerous sleep periods all through the day and as they grow, they tend to sleep more at night and sleep for shorter periods during the day. Throughout their childhood, children usually get a minimum of 10 hrs of sleep time but this drops considerably at adolescence. The drop is not caused by biological reasons but rather social and cultural reasons. This lack of enough sleep leads to most children and teenagers dropping in their school performance and being sleepy most of the time in the mornings and afternoon periods of their classes. This sleepiness usually affects even their reading time because of lack of focus and concentration. The social and cultural factors that usually lead to disorder of sleep phase related syndrome include increased extracurricular activities in the developing youth, which include part time work, academic pressures, and social pressures. Staying up for long periods usually leads to loss of sleeping time. The increased academic pressures include the need to complete the large amounts of homework that they have and the need to be able to do well in their studies and have good grades necessitates them to wake up early and sleep vey late in an attempt to try to improve their grades. Delayed sleep phase disorders usually manifest in the young adolescents due to changes that they undergo biologically. During puberty, the youth usually begin to experience sleep phases that are delayed due to the tendency of sleeping late in the evening and waking up late in the morning or very early in the morning (Jackson Brown & Pardun, 2008). The onset of sleep is stimulated by the release of melatonin, which is a natural body hormone. When nearing dawn, melatonin shuts off whereas the level of cortisol hormone rises thereby signaling the youngster to wake up. Studies reveal that melatonin pattern of synthesis makes it difficult for teenagers to fall asleep early in the evening as well as to wake up early in the morning. Schools, which open early, that is, any time before 8:30 a.m. place students at a disadvantage in terms of arousal and alertness not only for early morning classes but also all through the day because the child’s biological rhythms are out of sync with characteristic school routines. According to Kripke et al. (2008), delayed sleeping patterns usually develop in the youth and children because of the use of technology that has skyrocketed over the years. The use of technology by the youth leads to delayed sleeping time, especially during the nighttime, which thus leads to delayed sleeping patterns. The use of technology by the youth can be explained using mobile phones late into the night, use of internet, and watching television into wee hours of the morning. Children and the youth usually use mobile phones late into the night texting and calling their peers. This is because, during such hours, most telephone and service providers give lower tariff rates for calling. Therefore, this motivates the young people to stay up very late so that they can take advantage of this lower calling and texting. Furthermore, during the night hours, the parents and guardians of these children and adolescents are usually asleep; therefore, they do not have to fear that their parents will be listening to their conversations (Jackson Brown & Pardun, 2008). As such, they have the liberty to call other people and discussthe issues that they want to. Consequently, they use much of their sleeping time doing unnecessary things on the phone. The lack of enough sleep coupled by the odd sleeping hours leads to the development of sleeping disorders. This further leads to sleepiness in school during the morning and afternoon hours during their classes. Another use of technology that has affected adolescents sleep it the Internet. The use of internet has been described as a source of many evils that have affected the community both negatively and positively. However, the negative effects that have been experienced because of the introduction of internet cannot be overlooked. The internet allows people to meet online and interact, make conversations, see each other and access sites that have content that is of adult nature and should only be seen by adults. The use of the Internet affects adolescents’ sleep because they stay up late to access particular sites that have adult content that is regulated by the parents and guardians during the day. Therefore, at night, they have the liberty to watch anything they want. As such, they spend most of their time watching and easing information from pornographic sites that wastes their sleeping time. The young children and adolescents usually spend much time on the Internet face booking, and on Skype among others. Consequently, they waste much time that could be used to sleep and replenish the body instead. The things discussed on face book and twitter in such late hours are unhealthy to children and adolescents. Their sleeping time is further reduced because they have to wake up early to complete their home works and prepare for school. Consequently, these adolescents develop sleep disorders and irregular sleeping hours, which result in irregular sleep patterns, and hence DSPS disorder. Cain and Gradisar (2010) claim that, kids watch televisions in their bedrooms, which cause them to abort hours of sleep and instead watch certain TV programmers late into the night. Staying up late in the night leads to the development of irregular sleeping patterns and consequently suffers from delayed sleep. The television programs aired late in the night include X-rated movies and soap operas among others (Jackson Brown & Pardun, 2008). Kloss, Nash, Horsey, and Taylor (2011) posit that young children and adolescents are not the only people who suffer from sleep disorders and delayed sleep phases. Youths are also a large particular group that is affected by this problem. The youth, mostly in college, do not obtain enough quality sleep because they have newfound freedom, which most of the time they do not know how to handle, and therefore, end up misusing. They stay up longer hours to use their phones or even watch illicit sites in the Internet and on television (Cain & Gradisar, 2010). As such, they eat at odd hours and at irregular times, and drink much alcohol, which is opposite of what they do at home. This means they have interrupted sleeping patterns. The effects caused by sleep disorders cannot be over emphasized and have been discussed over long periods. They lead to sleepy, cranky and very poor performing learner at the school level and an irritable, gloomy, and non-productive child or teenager at the home level. These kids usually cause havoc on the sleep and patience of other members of the family due to their infuriation and the fact that they are gloomy for no obvious reason. Delayed sleep phase disorder is usually treated in a number of ways and these are all attributed as the causes of the disorder in the first place. The most common ways of treating the disorder is usually through avoiding the use of caffeine and the foods that contain caffeine after 3pm. This will help ensure that the body is not stimulated but it is well relaxed in the night to ensure uninterrupted sleep. Moreover, stimulating activities such as video games, scary movies, and exercise should be avoided at night. Instead, people should engage in relaxing activities leading up to bedtime to unwind. Individuals should ensure they keep a consistent wake up time and sleep time in all days of the week. Use of technology by kids should not be encouraged at night times to ensure they get enough sleep. References Cain, N., & Gradisar, M. (2010). Electronic media use and sleep in school-aged children and adolescents: A review. Sleep Medicine, 11, 735–742 Gradisar, M., Gardner, G., & Dohnt, H. (2011). Recent worldwide sleep patterns and problems during adolescence: A review and meta-analysis of age, region, and sleep. Sleep Medicine, 12, 110–118 Jackson, C., Brown, J., & Pardun, C. (2008). A TV in the bedroom: Implications for viewing habits and risk behaviors during adolescence. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 53(2), 349-367 Kloss, J., Nash, C., Horsey, S., & Taylor, D. (2011). The delivery of behavioral sleep medicine to college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 48, 553–561 Kripke, D., Rex, K., Ancoli-Israel, S., Nievergelt, C., Klimecki, W., & Kelsoe, J. (2008). Delayed sleep phase cases and controls. Journal of Circadian Rhythms, 6(6), 1-14dcasting & Electronic Media/September 2008 Read More