Sleep is an extremely important human physiological activity, occupying around a third of a person's life. However, today's realities of everyday life show that sleep is becoming less and less valuable, and no attention is being paid to the negative effects that sleep deprivation can bring. This is particularly true in the case of adolescents; however, research shows that sleep problems and disorders are also found in this population, with many negative consequences.
Table of contents:
Sleep is a very important part of our lives, it ensures the proper functioning of the body, adequate regeneration and is the basis for proper development - which is particularly important in the context of children and adolescents. Numerous studies point to the increasing prevalence and severity of sleep disorders among children and adolescents, which significantly affects their functioning in society and generates many developmental and learning problems [1].
Sleep
Sleep is one of the basic physiological states that the human body can be in, and is a functional state of the central nervous system characterised by certain cycles with a specific diurnal rhythm and a limitation (or even disappearance) of consciousness. It is a physiological activity that is particularly important for the development of the young person and occupies a very significant place in his or her life [1].
Thus, sleep is a functional phenomenon that every human being experiences, it occupies about one-third of life and, in the case of infancy, as much as two-thirds. Today's reality, lifestyle and many external factors push sleep to the margins of human interest - this activity, which is extremely important for our organism, is beginning to be perceived as a waste of time. However, it is important to remember that it is a natural human need that is part of the diurnal rhythm. Sleep is a state in which the body's activity decreases, reactivity to external stimuli decreases and the state of consciousness disappears. This reduces the ability to perceive signals from the environment, as well as the body's ability to respond to a given stimulus. So how do we distinguish sleep from amnesty or coma? While remaining asleep, the organism does not lose its ability to enter the waking state when a sufficiently strong stimulus is acted upon [2].
Components of sleep
Sleep can be divided into two distinct phases, parts. Their division is dictated by the parameters obtained during polysomnographic studies, i.e. during the study of bioelectrical brain activity (EEG) and the recording of bioelectrical muscle activity (EMG). The phases or parts in question are REM, as the time during which rapid eye movements are recorded, and NREM (or non-REM), a period of sleep during which slow eye movements occur [2].
Sleep in the teenage years
During adolescence, a number of hormonal changes occur in the adolescent body, including changes in melatonin secretion. The sleep pattern also changes, influenced not only by physiological changes, but also by changes in social functioning, school challenges or responsibilities- time for sleep and rest becomes shorter and shorter, when the body needs about nine hours of sleep during this period. Older adolescents show a sleep shift of up to about 2 hours, which means that bedtime is shifting to later and later and morning wake-ups are becoming more difficult. This type of situation results in the need for naps during the day, which, however, has its negative reflection in night sleep, which becomes ineffective and does not provide adequate rest for the body.
Sleep disorders, photo: panthermedia
Initially, both girls and boys have similar sleep problems, but as the years progress, it appears that greater sleep problems occur in girls. The limiting stage after which the difference in disorders is apparent is puberty [1].
Negative effects
When the human brain does not get enough rest, a number of negative changes occur, which in their effects can bring very severe complications. First of all, there is a decrease in the ability to assess the situation one finds oneself in, there are difficulties in focusing attention, the reaction to information received becomes inadequate. In such a state, it is common to take actions with excessive and often unnecessary risks. The ability to think creatively decreases and the number of mistakes increases. Moreover, sleep deprivation is a frequently used torture - according to Amnesty International, more than half of tortured prisoners have been deprived of sleep for more than one day [2].
Lack of sleep, too little sleep or ineffective sleep has many negative consequences. In cases of severe sleep deprivation, psychological problems related to mood disorders, anxiety disorders or adaptation disorders may occur. The severity of this increases with age, and increasing psychological problems exacerbate sleep problems, thus creating a vicious circle. Unfortunately, many times adolescence is also the stage when the first contacts with various psychoactive substances occur, which also has a significant impact on the deterioration of sleep quality [1].
Research in Poland
The authors of the article Analysis of selected sleep parameters in the population of school adolescents [1] undertook a study and description of the state presented by Polish adolescents in terms of sleep disorders and efficiency.
According to the interpretation of the results obtained in the study, problems with sleep dis orders are a significant problem among school adolescents. The scale of this phenomenon in the studied population shows that as many as 1/3 have problems with effective sleep, but in none of the studied groups did the prevalence of the problem exceed 44%. As the authors point out, this coincides with the results obtained in studies both in Poland and internationally. The difference noted was the lack of disparity in sleep disorders in the late adolescent population - indeed, the specialist literature indicates a disparity between girls and boys, showing greater sleep disorders in the female population than in the male population. However, the authors of the cited article do not confirm this regularity in the course of their research.
Attention was drawn to the chronicity of sleep disorders, which persisted in most cases. This is very important because of the increased risk of similar or more severe sleep disorders in the future. The time devoted to sleep itself is also short, with more than half of the respondents declaring their sleep length to be 8 hours and, moreover, this sleep is irregular.
The most accentuated problem adolescents face, however, is waking up in the morning, which comes with difficulty, and waking up at night [1].
The most noticeable effects of sleep deprivation for young people are feelings of daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and an inability to concentrate or focus. Despite this, a widespread problem with mental disorders has not been noticed, nor has the use of pharmacological agents, which has occurred rather incidentally [1].
