A few days ago, I was chatting with my friends and a question came up: 

“What time do you go to bed, Sofia?”

…That’s a question I am not fond of answering.

As a junior in high school during the pandemic, the passing days all begin to blur together. Each day is predictable, as it feels like I repeat the same cycle over and over again. However, what remains unpredictable is my sleep schedule. Out of all of the factors involved in my day, of course it’s my sleep schedule that decides to act unconventional. As the school year continues, the workload increases while my hours of sleep decrease.

However, when I stay up late, it’s usually for a reason. What I would consider a reason. The purpose of my late nights lay in a variety of measures to get things done. A wide variety. My brain is insatiable, not allowing me to sleep until I think of the perfect outfit to wear the next day or (temporarily) decide what I am going to major in while I’m in college. Apparently, 3 AM is the only time my brain can reach the breadths of my imagination. Though I am no early worm, I always manage to discover a way to get tasks done. My brain even had the decency to come up with this article idea as I currently type this section at 12:49 A.M. 

The real question is, “Why?” Why do adolescents have such difficulty maintaining an accurate sleep schedule that will tend to their needs? There are a plethora of psychological explanations that answer that question.

While we sleep, we already know that our body is still running, completing all of the necessary tasks to keep us alive. Specifically, our bodies enter 5 different stages that make up a sleep cycle. Each cycle lasts about 90-100 minutes, so during an average night of sleep, one goes through this cycle approximately 4 or 5 times. However, the sleep cycle doesn’t get to repeat itself often in a teenager’s sleep schedule.

It has been proven that adolescents need about 9 hours of sleep per night. However, when most teenagers can’t go to bed at 9 pm to wake up at 6 am for school, it’s because their brains naturally work on later schedules and aren’t ready for bed. The internal biological clock that all humans have, called the circadian rhythm, is reset during someone’s teen years.. It tells the adolescent to fall asleep later in the evening, causing them to wake up later in the morning. The change is due to the fact that the brain hormone, melatonin, is produced later at night in teens than it is for kids and adults. The shift in the teenager’s circadian rhythm is called “sleep phase delay”.

What makes it worse, is how much teens throw off this already delayed cycle. When resisting the change in falling asleep later in the evening by staying up late to complete homework assignments and/or talking to friends, it only hurts themselves. It also causes teens to believe the misconception that they can catch up on sleep on the weekend, which in reality throws off the circadian rhythm even more (UCLA Health) 

A phenomenon that occurs that prevents not only teens from receiving the amount of sleep they need as well, is called “revenge bedtime procrastination”. I first heard this term while scrolling through TikTok one day, and when the person in the video described what it was, I immediately that it was something I unknowingly took part in. Revenge bedtime procrastination “describes the decision to sacrifice sleep for leisure time that is driven by a daily schedule lacking in free time.” (Sleep Foundation) In simplistic terms, it is when one decides not to sleep, and instead involve themselves in enjoyable activities that they do not have time for during the day. For example, a few Sundays’ ago, I knew that my day would be filled with so much homework. At the same time, I had been wanting to paint something outside of school for a while. So, the night before, I stayed up until 5 am working from start to finish on a painting. While I worked “efficiently”, I was exhausted the following afternoon.

Even though you might be thinking, “Wow, Sofia seems to get work done, maybe I should start doing that…” I STRONGLY advise against it. Late nights can lead to serious sleep deprivation that can take a negative toll on all facets of one’s health. Insufficient sleep has been connected to mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety and has tied to difficulties in regulating emotions. Physically, it can make people more vulnerable to cardiovascular problems and metabolic disorders, like diabetes. In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of sleep can erode immune function and reduce the effectiveness of vaccines as well. (Sleep Foundation)

Another personal anecdoteーless than two months ago, I was staying up to finish homework, and it seemed like a typical night. I was able to wake up in the morning for a virtual day of school, and of course, I was tired. However, by 3rd period I noticed my eyes started to hurt, but I thought nothing of it. It turned into a migraine shortly after, with my head pounding, not being able to eat anything, and my vision turning blurry. It was the worst pain I had received from being sleep deprived. Luckily, I had lunch after, so I took a nap throughout the period, and I woke up feeling so much better than before. All I had to do was sleep.

Other issues that can disturb an adolescent’s sleep schedule are insomnia, periodic limb movement disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease, narcolepsy, and many more.

I’ve decided that this affair needs to be terminated.  I recall that the only time I entered the vast measures of slumber before 12 A.M. in 2020, was once during the summer. I had an eight hour day at the beach, and spent hours attempting to swim in the ocean, resulting in over exhaustion. I not only fell asleep at 7 P.M., but slept for fourteen hours. Waking up naturally at 9 A.M., I realized how refreshing it felt. A goal I made for myself that I hope will progress throughout 2021, is to go to bed earlier. (So far一that hasn’t been working out, but I’m trying!) I desire to feel refreshed every morning, instead of the groggy slump I typically obtain that takes the entire morning to get rid of. 

Late nights, I’m sorry, but I am terminating our affair.

Sources:

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sleep-problems.html

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene/revenge-bedtime-procrastination

https://www.uclahealth.org/sleepcenter/sleep-and-teens