It’s clear that puberty is a natural part of growing up, but it isn’t the same for everyone. That is particularly true for women. Because women go through puberty at a far different rate than their male counterparts, it is important to understand the impact it can have on your sleep.
A recent study looked at the connection between puberty and sleep deprivation. In it, researchers found that the earlier someone goes through puberty, the more complications will develop. Here is how puberty and sleep deprivation can impact women.
Sleep is interrupted by puberty
There are instances where some girls go through puberty as early as 8 years old. Often, though, girls will go through puberty by the time they are 13 years old. To add to that, there are also girls that do not go into puberty until even later.
But that isn’t who we will be focusing on right now. The interruption in sleep applies to those who experience puberty early. This is because earlier onset of puberty in girls leads to a variety of ramifications for their health throughout their entire lives.
In the study, 8,327 girls and 335,410 women who examined. Researchers looked at the effect of earlier puberty with self-reported sleep duration in adults. By 13.5 years old, girls who started puberty later reported sleeping more than nine hours a night. This was significantly longer than girls who went through puberty at an earlier age.
Weight gain and puberty
When girls go through puberty, obesity is also a risk factor to keep in mind. We know that obesity can be a risk factor for sleep apnea, which is why it is important to pay attention to how early someone goes through puberty.
Knowing this connection is important because we need to observe sleep duration with obesity and poor health as girls grow into women, as well as throughout their lives.
To learn more, contact Dr. Mayoor Patel at Craniofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Center of Georgia. We can work with you to identify sleep issues such as sleep apnea.
