Naturally, we want our children to be motivated and healthy. If it seems that they are sleeping their lives away, or that they are burning the candle at both ends, our parental instincts rise up. The ideal amount of sleep at any given age varies widely between individuals, but adolescence is a particularly difficult age at which to pinpoint and ensure the proper amount of sleep. The contrast between ideal and actual sleep in teenagers is based on solid research. Its truth is bolstered by the additional observation that excessive sleepiness is a very common complaint among adolescents.
Daytime sleepiness is the most common sleep-related disorder of adolescence.
For many years it was felt that the sleepiness of adolescents was their own fault. Their busy social agenda and burgeoning independence led to too many late nights. Recently, however, a different picture has emerged. Their bodies signal them to go to sleep at a later hour and also to sleep later in the morning. They are often incapable of falling asleep earlier.