Why are they always sleepy?

                                                  

 When she came to me, Namrata’s mother was on the verge of tears. Namrata is in 11^th standard & since past 4-5 years, her usually patient mother seems to be facing one crisis after another. As I am her doctor since she was a baby, I am witness to her transition to a teenager and in a way, can appreciate her mother’s concerns! This time, its Namrata’s sleep! Apparently, she is always sleepy. She sits up late at night chatting on phone or on the net, takes ages to get up in the morning, then skips her breakfast because she is too late, and is invariably sleepy throughout the day!

  

Sleep has many important functions. Our body repairs and regenerates tissues, consolidates thoughts, builds bone and muscle and strengthens immune system during sleep. Important hormones, too are secreted during sleep.

Sleep deprivation can lead to impaired memory and thought processes, depression and headache. It can affect mood negatively and can increase risky behaviour such as drunken driving, unsafe sexual activity, etc. It may also lead to poor school and social functioning.  

We all know the story of the scientist who thought sleep to be a waste of valuable time, conquered it and almost went mad from the lack of it! Thank god, all the rest of us mere mortals do not think so and treasure our beauty sleep! At the end of a busy day, the thought of a good slumber in a cozy bed is a most welcome one. 

Adolescents are going through a major transition and their sleep pattern is changing too. As we are well aware, this period is marked by a lot of hormonal and emotional upheavals. Also, there are many social changes. Today’s overtly competitive world only aggravates the problems. Talk to any youngster today and you will find him entangled in a web of activities. Coaching classes, colleges, practicals start early in the morning and merge into one another till late in the evening. Coupled with this hectic schedule, there are changes in the secretion of a hormone called Melatonin which leads to a delayed circadian phase. Teens tend to delay both their sleeping and waking time and as a result, collect a significant sleep debt. 

Namrata’s mother received all this information with interest and we came to a consensus. We decided to exclude other causes of excessive sleepiness such as anemia and hypothyroidism. She decided to share the newfound knowledge with Namrata, acknowledge her changing sleep pattern and at the same time make her aware of the necessity to get atleast 8 to 9 hours of sleep.

She also decided to let Namrata catch up with her sleep over the weekends. Namrata’s tight schedule of activities was reviewed and prioritized .    

Let’s see if we get a positive feedback during their next visit!