Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Aug:67:55-65.
doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.06.001. Epub 2018 Jun 13.

An update on adolescent sleep: New evidence informing the perfect storm model

Affiliations
Review

An update on adolescent sleep: New evidence informing the perfect storm model

Stephanie J Crowley et al. J Adolesc. 2018 Aug.

Abstract

The maturation of sleep regulatory systems during adolescence in combination with psychosocial and societal pressures culminate in a "Perfect Storm" of short and ill-timed sleep and the associated consequences for many youngsters. This model, first described by Carskadon in 2011, guides our current thinking of adolescent sleep behavior. Since the original description, the field has moved forward with remarkable pace, and this review aims to summarize recent progress and describe how this new work informs our understanding of sleep regulation and sleep behavior during this developmental time frame.

Keywords: Circadian timing; Light; School start time; Sleep homeostasis; Slow wave activity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The Perfect Storm model, first presented by Carskadon (2011), illustrates several factors described in the text that contribute to changes in sleep behavior over the course of adolescent development. Bedtime and thus sleep onset is shifted later due to bioregulatory changes to the homeostatic sleep system and the circadian timing system. Psychosocial factors also contribute to delayed bedtimes. What we add here is the likely interaction between bioregulatory and psychosocial pressures (arrows). Changes to sleep physiology propping alertness later into the evening likely facilitates engaging in other activities besides sleep. Activities that are stimulating (e.g., engaging in their social network) or provide light exposure (e.g., from screens) during a time that delays circadian rhythms can exacerbates late sleep onset, but also feedback on the systems regulating sleep and wake. The length of sleep is not affected by these factors, it is only when societal pressures – the most notable being school start time – forces adolescents awake earlier than spontaneous arousal with an alarm clock.

References

    1. Abraham J, Scaria J. Influence of sleep in academic performance–an integrated review of literature. Journal of Nursing and Health Science. 2015;4:78–81.
    1. Achermann P, Borbely AA. Sleep homeostasis and models of sleep regulation. In: Kryger MH, Roth T, Dement WC, editors. Principles and practice of sleep medicine. 6. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2017. pp. 377–387.
    1. Achermann P, Dijk DJ, Brunner DP, Borbely AA. A model of human sleep homeostasis based on EEG slow-wave activity: Quantitative comparison of data and simulations. Brain Research Bulletin. 1993;31:97–113. - PubMed
    1. Adolescent Sleep Working Group, Committee on Adolescence and Council on School Health. School start times for adolescents. Pediatrics. 2014;134:642–649. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Akacem LD, Wright KP, Jr, LeBourgeois MK. Sensitivity of the circadian system to evening bright light in preschool-age children. Physiological Reports. 2018;6:1–10. doi: 10.14814/phy2.13617. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types