At this point, it would have been safe to assume I had found the answer; half of kids are night owls. That makes sense. However, there was a ten percent difference between kids sleeping late and kids who were likely to be night owls. For that ten percent, what was their reason for the shift? Additionally, staying up till four AM or later every night seems a bit too late to write it off as night owl tendencies, and that accounted for 20 percent of participants on the first poll. I continued my research, in search of a possibly more serious reason, and came to what, in hindsight, is a rather obvious solution: stress.

According to SleepFoundation.org, there is “no shortage of experimental data confirming the connection between stress and sleep.” Studies on college students determined that stress in family and academic life leads to an increased risk of insomnia, and that worries relating to one’s social life and school can affect the sleeping patterns of adolescents and teens. The reason for this is something called hyperarousal, which is a state in which one’s brain and body are “on alert.” This stems from bodily reactions in the hormone, immune, and brain and nervous systems caused by stress. This state of hyperarousal is seen as a “central underlying driver of insomnia,” and persists throughout the day in people with insomnia, resulting in inability to sleep at night. It is definitely plausible that the stress caused by online schooling, learning in an environment not meant for that purpose, and lack of face-to-face contact with teachers, making upholding grades stressful and difficult, is a cause of sleep loss in students.

During my research, I stumbled across another possibility that, while unlikely for most, could be the case for a few students. There exists a condition called Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD) that affects sixteen percent of teens, according to doctors at the UK’s Paediatric Pearls. Essentially, someone with DSPD has a shifted sleep-wake pattern that makes it difficult for one to fall asleep before midnight or one AM and wake up before nine or ten AM. Due to school and work, people with this condition often will not get enough sleep, due to falling asleep late and having to be up early. The cause of this disorder is not entirely known, but it is likely related to the natural changes in teen sleeping patterns, just on a more exaggerated scale. Additionally, night owls are more likely to develop DSPD. The article also adds, “This is different from a teen that is able to fall asleep at a reasonable bedtime, but chooses to stay up later to do things like socialize or finish homework. A teen with DSPD wants to fall asleep earlier, but cannot.” I have developed a sort of theory to explain why this may be the case for some students, but keep in mind, I’m obviously no professional.

It is possible that, during a normal school year, teens are forced to wake up early, and many have the sense to go to bed early for that reason. Now that most students have no reason to get up in the morning, they have begun staying up later and later, like during summer vacation. The difference is that, unlike summer break, teens are also stressing over the increased difficulty of schoolwork and maintaining social lives with limited interaction. These practices have already caused sleep problems that, coupled with the choice in many to stay up late, may cause changes in one’s sleep schedule that are difficult to reverse, thus leading in an increased number of cases of DSPD among the teenage demographic.

Now, the question that remains is: how does one get a sleep schedule back to normal? If you can, just try to go to sleep earlier. It may be best to make gradual changes, like going to sleep an hour earlier every night, so your body can adjust to the changes. If you really cannot get yourself to sleep at night, that is okay! You are not alone! Something to take into consideration may be to avoid bright lights, like phone and computer screens, for an hour before bed. I know, we’ve all heard it before, but light therapy is a very real and very effective form of treatment for sleep issues. Additionally, according to the Paediatric Pearls article, being exposed to bright light in the morning makes it easier to wake up. Ilana Strauss of The Cut by, who has DSPD, wrote that, when she lived in an apartment with a big east-facing window in her room, she slept the best because the light woke her up in the morning. If you have windows in your room, open them, and if there is somewhere else in your house with east-facing windows, eat your breakfast there, or sit outside in your backyard. Not only will you be awake, but you’ll feel more awake and functional than being woken by an alarm and sitting in the dark all day.

To sum it up, teenagers are not sleeping in quarantine, and there are many reasons, effects, and treatments to the issue. If you have any more questions, comments to add, or feedback, leave a note in the form below! I’m hoping to really engage with readers, so don’t be shy! I hope many of you found a reason for your sleeplessness that fits your situation, or a solution to it. Thank you guys, and I’ll see you all next year!

Author’s note: If anyone is interested, here are the links to the Paediatric Pearls and the Cut articles, if you want to know more about DSPD. I highly recommend reading through Strauss’ article, it’s incredibly interesting and worth the read!

Paediatric Pearls: https://www.paediatricpearls.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Delayed_Sleep_Phase_Disorder-info-leaflet.pdf

Strauss, The Cut: https://www.thecut.com/2018/01/my-life-with-a-sleep-disorder-that-makes-me-nocturnal.html