Many of us at the moment are very aware of media headlines telling us the right way to get well sleep.
They urge us to get eight hours, avoid screens before bed, stop napping or get up early, boiling down complex health advice. A simple list of tips and tricks.
But sleep is far more complicated than a handful of lifestyle hacks. And when readers encounter dozens of articles over time, the recommendation can often contradict itself.
For parents of teenagers, these mixed messages may be especially troubling. Some stories persuade them that a certain sleep pattern is perfectly normal. Others warn that it might be an indication of a serious health problem.
What are the results of such conflicting information? And how should parents behave?
‘Just a phase’ or cause for concern?
To learn the way these messages are presented, We analyzed Between 2020 and 2023, 36 articles on sleep and youth were published in New Zealand’s mainstream news media.
Many articles have described the changes in adolescent sleep as a traditional a part of growing up. Later bedtimes, bedtimes, and sleep irregularities were often attributed to puberty, changes in hormones, and changes within the body’s internal clock.
Parents were often encouraged to view these changes as temporary and avoid overreaction. As one media expert quoted: “Don’t think of the teenage years as something to be conquered, but a wave you need to surf.”
In these stories, disturbed sleep was largely portrayed as a natural and inevitable stage of adolescent development.
But a really different theme also emerged within the stories we analyzed.
Other articles describe sleep changes in teenagers as a warning sign that something could also be fallacious. Parents are urged to look at for changes in sleep patterns and mood, with poor sleep linked to emphasize, behavioral problems and mental health difficulties.
For example, one article advised parents: “They will only sleep for a few hours and this is a serious risk to their health. It will also cause them stress, and they will relieve their stress by acting out.”
Here, sleep disturbances should not presented as an innocuous phase, but reasonably as a possible indicator of more serious problems that require attention and intervention.
The result’s that folks are sometimes presented with two very alternative ways of interpreting the identical behavior. Does an adolescent sleep late because he’s going through a traditional developmental phase? Or is it an indication of trouble that requires motion?
Therein lies a part of the reason. How scientific advice is often reported By a media that naturally favors stories. which are new Or more likely to run an engagement.
Individual articles are sometimes structured around a specific study, expert opinion or health concern reasonably than the broader body of evidence.
In the method, complex research may be distilled into easy, media-friendly advice.
But those familiar “five tips for better sleep” articles cannot fully capture the complexities of an issue like teen sleep. As a result, readers are faced with a relentless stream of recommendation that may sometimes point in numerous directions.
More than simply confusing, it Can encourage suspicion About latest research findings. Or – as is a pervasive problem with media coverage of health and research – people simply can. Completely tune out.
Advice on advice
So, what should parents make of this constant barrage of knowledge? How do they resolve what their relationship with their family is?
The first point to recollect is that media advice is designed for a mass audience. Although often presented in personal terms, it might not account for the person circumstances of a specific family or young person.
An article cannot determine whether a specific sleep pattern is a traditional a part of adolescence – or an indication that extra help could also be needed.
Rather than treating media advice as a algorithm to live by, it may possibly be taken as a place to begin for reflection and discussion. It can also be essential to ask young people what they themselves think.
The work of our fellow researcher Isabelle Ross suggests. That young people value the recommendation they get about sleep from trusted adults. Parents should ask what worries them, what they struggle with, or what they need help with.
Such conversations are simpler than counting on general advice, which, as our research found, is usually contradictory.