Excessive sleepiness in teenagers - What are the causes and what to do?

Adolescents and young adults (13–22 years of age) are often excessively sleepy. This excessive sleepiness can have a profound negative effect on:- school performance- cognitive function- mood- increased incidence of automobile crashesExcessive sleepiness - What are the causes?The main reason adolescents don’t get enough sleep is that they simply don’t make enough time for it, because of early school hours, homework, part-time jobs, and other demands. The typical high school student falls asleep at 11 or later. One reason is that many teenagers cherish the late night as one of the few times they have all to themselves. The “BEARS” screening is divided into 5 major sleep domains and provides a comprehensive screen for the major sleep disorders affecting children in the 2- to 18-year age range. Each sleep domain has a set of age-appropriate “trigger questions” for use in the clinical interview.“BEARS”: A Sample Sleep HistoryB = Bedtime problems (Do you have any problems falling asleep at bedtime?)E = Excessive daytime sleepiness (Do you feel sleepy a lot during the day? In school? While driving?)A = Awakenings during the night (Do you wake up a lot at night?)R = Regularity and duration of sleep (What time do you usually go to bed on school nights? Weekends? How much sleep do you usually get?)S = Sleep-disordered breathing (Parent: Does your teenager snore loudly or nightly? Patient: Has anyone ever told you that you snore loudly at night?)An algorithm can be us...
Source: Clinical Cases and Images - Blog - Category: Professors and Educators Tags: Pediatrics Sleep Source Type: blogs