Teen blues

The biorhythms of the human being change during teen years. Natural sleep onset becomes later and waking is also pushed back. In many ways, although key schooling years are in the teens, it is precisely at this time that keeping school hours becomes difficult for the teenage body. New research though has shown that there might be a way to help the teenage body cope with the stress of being teen.

The new research was based on the fact that many teenagers arrive at school chronically sleep deprived and estimates are that around 70 per cent of teenagers do not get adequate sleep. This has a range of implications.

Cortisol is a stress hormone produced by your body. Levels of cortisol follow a pattern are low during the day hitting their lowest levels at night. Levels slowly increase during the night until a sharp spike in the hour before waking. This is known as the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and a high CAR is linked to better functioning and readiness for challenge.

Since the biological clock is ruled by light these researchers wanted to see if they could manipulate light to alter the biological clock of teenagers and optimise their CAR, perhaps making them more ready for the challenges of schooling.

In the study teenagers aged 12 to 17 took part in three overnight stays, each at least one week apart. They were either exposed to short wave-length blue light (40 lux of 470 nanometre wavelength light) in the morning or were exposed to dim light. The subjects wore “dimesimeter” wrist bands that measured light exposure and activity levels.

Blood testing showed that exposure to blue wavelength light in the morning enhanced the CAR in the teenagers and made them more ready to face the day.

It all sheds light on the teenage blues and makes the “blue light disco” seem like a stroke of genius.