Puberty: other changes

Oh I’m so tired, why does school have to start so early?! Ugh Adam, you just complain all the time, stop being so annoying. You think I’m annoying? You should hear my parents! Nagging me all day...

what a pain! To Leon, it seems as if his friends changed overnight — Adam and Eva used to be best friends, but now they argue all the time. They keep complaining about how annoying their parents are, how they want to be more independent. Leon doesn’t feel that way, and doesn’t understand what is happening to his friends. Why is everyone in such a rush to grow up?

And what if they move on and leave me behind, because I haven’t changed as much? Is something wrong with me? If you are a teenager, like Leon, you might have such questions too. You might notice your body is changing — hair is suddenly growing in places where it wasn’t before, your body might be changing shape, and you are probably getting taller too! But your body isn’t the only thing that is growing up.

The way you think, feel and even sleep, changes too, during this period of adolescence — puberty. Is this ‘puberty’ the reason why I am so sleepy all the time? In a way — yes. You probably notice your sleep patterns have changed and you are going to bed much later than before. During puberty, your body becomes flooded with chemical messengers — hormones.

These hormones are the main reason your body is changing. These hormones also influence your sleep-wake cycle, and cause it to shift. You get more alert later at night, and more tired earlier in the morning. So you might not be able to fall asleep as easily in the evening, but you still have to get up early for school. And this lack of sleep combined with the raging hormones could be making you a bit… Moody!

Exactly! Hormones, sleeping badly or too little, are usually to blame for the mood swings, moodiness and how easily you get irritated during puberty. What irritates me is that it seems no one understands me. No one understands me either! You and Eva got new interests overnight — you don’t like football anymore and just want to play video games, and Eva doesn’t want to play football either, she just wants to listen to music.

But I still want to hang out with you two, just like we used to. Your interests and opinions might change during puberty too. You might suddenly realise you don’t have much in common with some of your old friends. But discovering new interests means you have opportunities to make new friends! You might also start feeling new things — like falling in love, or being attracted to someone.

You might start yearning for closeness or sexual experience with a person you are interested in. Or you might not, and that is okay too! While there are things that happen to everyone, it’s okay if changes happen to you at a different pace than your peers. All these changes can be quite confusing, so if you are worried, talk to an adult you trust — they went through puberty at some time, too! And remember, just as much as your body is adjusting to all these changes, so is your mind, so be kind to yourself.