There is a growing concern in relation to the problem of insufficient sleep, particularly in the United States. In the early 1990s a Congressionally mandated commission noted that insufficient sleep is a major contributor to catastrophic events, such as Chernobyl and the Exxon Valdez, as well as personal tragedies, such as automobile accidents. Adolescents appear to be among the most sleep-deprived populations in our society, though they are rarely included in sleep assessments. This book explores the genesis and development of sleep patterns in adolescents. It examines biological and cultural factors that influence sleep patterns, presents risks associated with lack of sleep, and reveals the effects of environmental factors such as work and school schedules on sleep. Adolescent Sleep Patterns will appeal to psychologists and sociologists of adolescence who have not yet considered the important role of sleep in the lives of our youth.

"During much of 1990 and 1991, Dr. Carskadon and I served on the National Commission on Sleep Disorder Research, which carried out a Congressionally-mandated study of the role of sleep deprivation and sleep disorders in American society. One of the the areas we examined was whether the facts about sleeping that we have known for more than two decades have actually been integrated into the educational system and the health care system. It was clear that crucial education about sleep need and biological rhythms, and sleep disorders likely to occur in adolescence, was completely absent.... There is an urgent need for researchers and clinicians in the area covered by this volume to cooperate, to arrive at a consensus, and to provide leadership.... Dr. Carskadon is certainly the outstanding leader in this area and she has assembled... leading researchers to produce a very important and long overdue book." from the Foreword by Dr. William C. Dement, Stanford University