Spill the Tea: The Secrets of High Achieving Teens

Do you play a sport at the club level? Play an instrument in a youth orchestra? Is your schedule filled with AP, or honors, or IB level classes, or are you just surrounded by people doing all of this? Maybe you’re a parent of one of these kids? If so, then stick with us, because in today’s episode we are going to tackle the topic of teen stress within high pressure environments. We are going to hear straight from teens what is really at the heart of their stress, not what we think it might be. Then we will hear from an expert clinical phycologist who will bring this all together and give us some tips and tricks that anyone can use to keep our emotions from pulling us under. And for our parents listening, we have some specific tips for you. Let’s start at the beginning.

What do Patrick Mahomes Jennifer Aniston and Princess Leia all have in common? Iconic hair! Hair can be what someone first notices about you or how you're remembered or what brings that positive vibe on a good hair day. In this 20 minute episode we're going to untangle the secrets of hair, because high achieving teens have busy schedules, they're pulled in all sorts of directions like into the pool or on the lacrosse field with the suit at prom or on the ski mountain each of these activities demanding their own style so how do we make doing hair as simple as strands on our head.

Expert: Andrea Keene of Selenite Studio, Sammamish WA

Franbourg et al. J Am Acad Dermatol 2003;48:S115-9.

Do you play a sport at the club level? Play an instrument in a youth orchestra? Is your schedule filled with AP, or honors, or IB level classes, or are you just surrounded by people doing all of this? Maybe you’re a parent of one of these kids? If so, then stick with us, because in today’s episode we are going to tackle the topic of teen stress within high pressure environments. We are going to hear straight from teens what is really at the heart of their stress, not what we think it might be. Then we will hear from an expert clinical psycologist who will bring this all together and give us some tips and tricks that anyone can use to keep our emotions from pulling us under. And for our parents listening, we have some specific tips for you.

Expert: Dr. Elizabeth Dexter-Mazza of Mazza Consulting, Mazzaconsulting.com

Episode Copyright 09/12/2024

References

1. Front. Psychol., 22 July 2015 A multi-method exploratory study of stress, coping, and substance use among high school youth in private schools

2. Trauma and pressure to excel. Inspiring and Powering the Future: A New View of Adolescence July 2018

3. J Youth Adoles 2017 May;46(5):1057-1075. When Mothers and Fathers Are Seen as Disproportionately Valuing Achievements: Implications for Adjustment Among Upper Middle Class Youth

4. ChallengeSuccess.org. Accessed July 2024

https://challengesuccess.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Challenge-Success-2024-Student-Voice-Report.pdf

5. Luthar, S. S., Kumar, N. L., & Zillmer, N. (2020). High-achieving schools connote risks for adolescents: Problems documented, processes implicated, and directions for interventions. American Psychologist, 75(7), 983–995.

6. Mental Health, suicidality, and connectedness among High school Students. Adolescent Behaviors and experiences survey, United States, January-June 2021. Supplements April 1, 2022 71(3); 16-21

Every one of us needs sleep. But what separates high achievers like Jeff Bezos, Ariana Huffington, LeBron James and Mariah Carey apart is that they have learned how to use sleep to bring their A game. Not only do they get enough hours at night, but they have learned the science of sleep to manipulate their bodies into peak performance. In this episode we are going to dive into this science - plus detail how a teenage brain is different and what that means for a successful day. So you too can understand how your sleep brain works to get the most out of 24hours. Like JLo says- “Sleep is my weapon”. So lets learn how to wield it!

Expert

Dr. Maida Chen MD, Seattle Childrens Hospital and Professor University of Washington, Seattle

Content

0:00-2:40 Intro to sleep and sleep deprivation

3:40-9:50 What regulates our sleep. Details of Circadian Rhythm, Sleep pressure, and melatonin

09:50-14:00 First Hack: Learn Science of Circadian Alertness and how the teen brain is different than adults

14:03-21:48 Screens and device influence on sleep and the 3 Hooks of Devices

21:48-23:30 Peak Alertness and peak peformance

23:30-29:20 Second Hack: Power of the Nap, Science of stages of sleep including REM

29:24-34:00 Third Hack: Caffeine! Doses and best timing of this drug

34:03-end: Fourth Hack: Effective Sleep Hygiene to get you a good night's sleep.

Studies

National Sleep Foundation, 2006

Owens et al. Pediatrics 2008

Meldrum et al. Preventative Medicine 2014

Australian Traffic Foundation

Dunster et al. Sci Adv 2018

Milewski et al. J Paed Ortho 2014

Posner et al. Sleep 2010

Carskadon et al. Sleep 2011

Chee et al. J Sleep Res 2017

Chee et al. Sleep 2016