Changes in Sleep Patterns- A New Indicator of Onset of Puberty

A new research conducted by the psychology department of Tel Aviv University has asked parents and educators to take note of changing sleep patterns in adolescents as it could indicate the onset of puberty. According to Prof. Avi Sadeh of TAU’s Department of Psychology, changes in children’s sleep patterns are evident just before the onset of physical changes associated with puberty and therefore suggests that parents and educators to make sure that pre-pubescent children get the good, healthy sleep that their growing and changing bodies need.

In a report published in journal Sleep, Prof. Avi Sadeh says, “It is very important for parents to be aware of the importance of sleep for their developing children and to maintain their supervision throughout the adolescent years. School health education should also provide children with compelling information on how insufficient sleep compromises their well-being, psychological functioning and school achievements.”

The study that involved 94 children, 72 of which completed three assessments over a two-year period, reveals that a transition to adolescence brings about significant changes in sleep-wake cycles which include a delayed sleep phase (tendency to sleep later during the night), and therefore delayed waking up times, shorter sleep that causes daytime sleepiness, and irregular sleep patterns, which involve sleeping very little on weekdays and sleeping longer during weekends to compensate. This current study is supported by the Israel Science Foundation and proved over a two year study period that sleep onset was significantly delayed by an average of 50 minutes in the study subjects, and sleep time was significantly reduced by an average of 37 minutes. This suggests that the neurobehavioral changes associated with puberty may be seen earlier in sleep organization than in bodily changes.

“It is very important for parents to be aware of the importance of sleep to their developing teenager and to maintain their supervision throughout the adolescent years,” said Sadeh. “School health education should also provide children with compelling information on how insufficient sleep compromises their well-being, psychological functioning and school achievements.”

According to the authors, a deeper understanding of the interrelationships between sleep and pubertal maturation may provide new insights into the emergence of vulnerabilities for behavioural and emotional health problems in early adolescence, which could improve prevention and early intervention efforts.

Article by Snigdha Taduri for Biomed-ME