Lifestyle factors contributing to this problem include early start times for most high schools, and an increasing amount of extracurricular and employment demands on many adolescents. A recent publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Working Group on Sleepiness in Adolescents/Young Adults ( 1) summarized that teens need 9 h to 10 h of sleep per night for optimal functioning, but for a variety of reasons, many do not get this. Not surprisingly, the usual cause of excess sleepiness is insufficient or inadequate sleep – both very common during the teen years. ![]() In support of the descriptions by teens, objective measures using the multiple sleep latency test confirm that many teens do, in fact, have a higher than expected (and healthy) tendency to fall asleep during the day ( 2, 6, 7). Objectively, sleepiness is measured using the multiple sleep latency test, in which the patient attempts to nap under fixed ideal conditions, and sleep latency (time to the onset of sleep) is measured. ![]() Subjectively, the rates of daytime sleepiness among teens vary between 10% and 40%, ( 3– 5), and tend to increase from early to later adolescence ( 4, 5). Sleepiness is defined as “an increased tendency to fall asleep” and is generally considered the opposite of alertness ( 1, 2).
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