Delayed sleep phase syndrome
If your teen complains that he can't fall asleep until 3 or 4 a.m. and can't get up for school in the morning, chances are that his sleep phase cycle has shifted. The remedy for this sleep disorder may actually be to go to bed later. Yes, later. Since a teen's natural circadian rhythm sends him to bed later, this approach, recommended by the Canadian Sleep Society, works to correct the phase shift. Your teen should move his bedtime forward three hours each night until he has moved entirely around the clock and reached the desired bedtime. The process takes a week to work. Once he has reached the ideal bedtime, he must maintain both bedtime and wake-up time even on weekends or he will knock the cycle quickly out of phase again.
Or he can try the "weekend crash treatment." Beginning on Friday, he doesn't sleep at all, day or night. On Saturday, he goes to bed around midnight. Then on Sunday morning, he should get up at the time he needs to wake for school. On Sunday night, his bedtime should be 9 or 10 p.m. By Monday, he will have achieved his goal of being awake during the day and able to sleep at night. These regimes are severe, so your teen has to be motivated to get back into sync with the rest of the world. If he wants to give either approach a try, help him out by waking him at the appropriate times.
Night terrors
Night terrors usually occur within an hour or two of falling asleep. A younger child experiencing a night terror (or partial waking, as it's sometimes called) typically sits up, opens his eyes, and grinds his teeth. After a few minutes he lies back down and returns to sleep. But in adolescence, night terrors can be much more dramatic and frightening.
For a teen, a night terror might start with a bloodcurdling scream. Then she may jump out of bed, knock furniture over, even break a window or lamp. During a night terror, your teen risks physical injury. Don't try to restrain her or you, too, will risk injury. Instead, block her access to the stairway and other areas where she might hurt herself. Turn on the light in the hall. Push aside the clutter that covers her bedroom floor. Make a safe place for her to calm down.
One or two episodes of night terrors per year are nothing to be concemed about. But one or two night terrors a month may be cause for concern. The adolescent who guards her feelings during the day is the typical victim of night terrors. Perhaps she's unable, or too frightened, to express her anger about a move, a death in the family, or her difficulties at school. Arrange counselling to help her deal with the emotional blocks that bring on frequent night terrors.
Excerpted from Understanding Your Teen: Ages 13 to 19 by Christine Langlois. Copyright 1999 by Telemedia Communications Inc. Excerpted, with permission by Ballantine Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
