Sleep and Social Norms

Maggie Koerth-Baker suggests that childhood bedtimes are a social construct , and that different children at different ages may have different sleep needs. Various research studies have shown that up to half of children who are forced to go to bed when they are not sleepy develop sleep resistance behaviors, fighting with their parents to stay awake later into the evening.

However, children who win this battle and remain awake late into the evening may develop sleep-wake phase disorders, a where the circadian rhythm is permanently set to a default which differs from the society they live in. For example, in the U.S., a habit of staying up late (and rising late) that can carry on into problems at school, and later work.

-DD