We all know that puberty is a natural part of growing up. However, not everyone goes through puberty at the same rate, which can impact your sleep. In a recent study, researchers found that the earlier someone goes through puberty, the more complications will occur. Let’s take a look at how puberty and sleep deprivation impact women. 

Negative ramifications

Some girls go through puberty as early as 8 years old and usually by the time they are 13 years of age. However, some might go through puberty later than that too. However, earlier onset of puberty in girls leads to a variety of ramifications for their health throughout their lives. 

One aspect is the relationship between when a girl goes through puberty and the length of time they sleep every night. In a study of 8,327 girls and 335,410 women, 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 began puberty at an earlier age. 

Puberty and weight gain

Since the start of puberty in girls also affects obesity, it is also important to pay close attention to sleep. This is particularly true for sleep apnea–obesity is a risk factor. Knowing this, it is important to observe sleep duration with obesity and poor health as these girls grow into adulthood and throughout their lives. 

Contact AZ Sleep and TMJ Solutions to learn more about sleep apnea and how to improve sleep quality.