Teenage brain development
Information for parents
• Over the last 10 years brain scans (MRI) have told us
more about how teenager brains function differently to
adult brains
• By knowing more about how the teenager’s brain works it
can help adults to understand their behaviour better –
Why they may take risks, sleep a lot, be impulsive,
emotional, rebellious, disorganised, distracted and late!
• Teenagers may look physically mature but their brains are
still developing into their early twenties
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development
Sleep - Information for parents
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development –
sleepTeenage
informationSleep
for parents
Teenagers need at least 9 hrs sleep to be optimally
alert
Changes in sleep patterns are linked to puberty and
changes in hormones
girls about 11 years
boys around 14years
Puberty is a time when teenager’s physical growth speeds
up and this is controlled by the release of growth hormone
©Solihull Approach
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Teenagers’ sleep patterns
Teenage Sleep
Teenagers are growing
very quickly in a short time
©Solihull Approach
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Teenagers’ sleep patterns
Teenage Sleep
To grow this quickly they need to make
more growth hormone in their body
Growth hormone is released during sleep
©Solihull Approach
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Teenagers’ sleep patterns
Teenage Sleep
In teenagers the sleep hormone
(melatonin) is released about 1am
compared to 10pm in adults
Teenagers will continue with this sleep pattern until they have
finished puberty
Near the end of puberty they will change to an adult pattern
For girls this is about 19.5 years of age
and boys around 21 years of age
©Solihull Approach
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Supporting your Teenager
Teenage
Tips for
parents Sleep
• Bedtime routines and having ways to settle off to sleep
are still important. You might just need to adapt them to
be more in tune with what is happening to your
teenager’s body
• Try to encourage a regular bed time that is not too early
• Try to keep calm – Just as when they were younger they
will rely on you to help them stay calm
• Keep bedroom cool
• Encourage a calm down time such as agreeing a time to
stop using the computer and TV.
• Reduce lighting - Having dimmable/lamp lighting can be
helpful
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©Solihull Approach
Teenage brain development
Teenage
InformationSleep
for parents
• As adults we use the frontal part of our brain to think,
make judgements, organise ourselves and interpret
facial expressions and emotions
• By using brain scans(MRI) researchers have found that
while the front part of the teenager’s brain is growing and
developing they use this part of their brain less for some
functions
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development
Teenage
InformationSleep
for parents
In teenagers
control of speech
and interpreting facial
expressions and emotions
is controlled by the part
of the brain we use when
we are in danger
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development
Information for parents
So can teenagers tell what you are feeling
by the look on your face?
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development
Information for parents
• An experiment to see if teenagers and adults
recognised an expression in the same way
• Asked what is this person feeling
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development
Information for parents
100% of Adults were correct
They said FEAR correctly
50% of Teenagers were correct
The other 50% of teenagers said another emotion, such
as anger, shock, sadness, confusion
Some said they didn't know
It was surprising that even fairly sophisticated teenagers
got it wrong
Teenagers use the emotional/gut part of the brain more
often
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development
Information for parents
What might this mean:
• When teenagers look at a person’s face to work out
what they are feeling they may misinterpret the emotion
and consequently the other person’s intention
• The teenager’s brain is relying on the
gut/emotional/reactive part of their brain rather than the
thinking part of the brain, to work out what to do
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development
Information for parents
What might this mean:
• This might lead to a more impulsive behaviour rather
than a thoughtful, controlled one
• If this is the case the teenager’s behaviour may not
match what the other person was trying to communicate
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development
Teenage
InformationSleep
for parents
• Check out that what you think you have
communicated to your teenager is actually what
they have understood from you
• If you think they haven’t understood, help them
out by saying how you feel simply, as well as
showing it by your facial expression
• Notice when they are feeling stressed or worried
and let them know you have noticed
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development
InformationSleep
for parents
Teenage
• Use what you know about your teenager to help
them calm down. Sometimes, just as when they
were younger, they might need longer to calm
down
• And help them to make up when things go
wrong
• Teenagers are still learning about emotions and
relationships and still need your help
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development
Teenage Sleep
• There are positive aspects of teenage brain
development
• Their brains are growing rapidly and have
enormous potential
• They are more open to ideas, amenable to
change and less set in their ways
©Solihull Approach
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Teenage brain development
Teenage Sleep
• With support and understanding from parents
and other adults during their teenage years:
Their brains will mature and eventually function
as that of a responsible adult
They will be more able to organise and plan
Their sleep pattern will change and they will get
up for work
And finally, they will hopefully...
©Solihull Approach
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We wish!........
Tidy their bedroom
©Solihull Approach
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