This post: 10 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Your Teen’s Brain
It’s a question most parents of teenagers have asked themselves at least once, “What in the world is going on in my teen’s brain?”
The mood swings, sassy remarks, unpredictable emotions and delusions of immortality – all things that make parents of teens question where they went wrong.
But, heads up, parents. It’s not you… you can blame it (at least a lot of it) on your teen’s brain.
Despite their size 10 shoes, towering six-foot presence and mature outlook in at least some areas of their lives, researchers have known for a while that even though our teens may look all grown up on the outside, they’re most certainly not grown up on the inside. In fact, their brains (and bodies) are under such massive construction that they themselves have a hard time keeping pace with the rapid changes going on.
A quote in an article entitled, “The Evolutionary Advantage of the Teenage Brain,” published by the University of California explains it best:
One way to think about it is that the brain has two sides – an impulsive side, and a cautious side – and they balance one another. Before we reach adulthood, the impulsive side of the brain is charging ahead, while the cautious side of the brain is still playing catchup. The result is a teenager.“
As nerve-racking as it is for parents of teens to deal with their teen’s unpredictable, test the limits, emotional, sometimes risk-taking behavior, it should be comforting to know that so much of what’s happening with your teenager’s behavior is not only normal, it’s a necessary part of their development as they move into adulthood.
10 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Your Teen’s Brain
#1 Your Teen’s Brain is Under Massive Construction
Does your otherwise level-headed teen baffle you by jumping into decisions without fully considering the consequences? Do they have trouble planning ahead in school or, no matter how much you get on them about applying to colleges, they can’t seem to wrap their head around it and get it done? Well… it’s probably not their fault.
Our kids’ brains had a massive growth spurt when they were very young. In fact, typically by the time they reached six years of age, their brains were about 90-95 percent the size of an adult brain. The remaining 5 percent of growth happens when kids hit the teen years, continuing into their mid-20s. It’s during this time in which a massive overhaul takes place to build the thinking and processing part of the brain.
According to an article entitled Brain Development: Teenagers, “The main change is that unused connections in the thinking and processing part of your child’s brain are ‘pruned’ away. At the same time, other connections are strengthened. This is the brain’s way of becoming more efficient.”
Because the brain’s overhaul begins at the back of the brain, it means the prefrontal cortex – the decision-making part of the brain that is responsible for helping fine-tune your child’s ability to plan and think about actions and consequences, problem-solving, and controlling impulsive behavior – is remodeled last.
#2 It’s Gaining New Cognitive Thinking Skills
According to Sara Johnson, assistant professor at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, “The brain continues to change throughout life, but there are huge leaps in development during adolescence.” It’s during our kids’ teen years when they start to acquire the computational and decision-making skills of an adult. However, just because your teen has this new ability, doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll put those new thinking skills into action.
In fact, teens’ decision-making can be largely overshadowed by their emotions mainly because their brains rely more on a part of the brain called the amygdala to make decisions. This part of the brain is associated with emotions, impulses, aggression, and instinctive behavior, which explains why our teens lash out unexpectedly, make those occasional poor decisions or follow their instincts as opposed to logical reasoning.
#3 Teen Brains May Be More Vulnerable to Anxiety & Stress
It may come as no surprise to some parents that teenagers today are under a lot of stress… too much. In fact, a recent study conducted by the American Psychological Association found that teen stress today rivals that of adults. Even more concerning, the study revealed that most teens reported that their high levels of stress seemed to have little to no impact on their physical, emotional, or mental health. Essentially, they felt they were doing a good job of ‘handling it,’ underestimating the potentially damaging impact stress can have on their body and mind.
With 83 percent of teens saying they’re stressed out about school, getting into a good college (69 percent), family finances (65 percent), and many teens lying awake at night with worries (35 percent), there’s no question stress is a huge factor for teens. And, like it or not, the teen brain doesn’t always handle it well. The teen brain is generally more anxious than the adult brain likely due to the rapid development of the part of the brain that handles emotional expression.
So, while your teen may think they’re holding it together when life gets hard, their brains can trigger feelings of anxiousness and even depression in extreme cases.
#4 Their Brain is Set Up to Learn New Skills
The bright side of all that construction and moderate chaos going on in your teen’s brain is that it’s also at a stage when new talents and skills can emerge. The malleability of their brain makes it easier for them to learn and change before their brain is fully molded.
Your kid’s teen years might be a time when they start showing incredible talent as a writer or when their artistic talents really start to shine. It could be a time when your soccer player begins to outshine his or her teammates or when your son or daughter’s musical talents are taken to new heights.
#5 Sleep – It’s What Their Brain Needs
Every parent of teenagers knows – teenagers sleep a lot! Staying up until midnight, sleeping until noon – it drives most parents nuts. But your teen really can’t help it. Not only has their natural circadian rhythm shifted making it difficult for them to fall asleep before 11 p.m., but their brains also need that sleep to grow.
Teenagers need anywhere between 9-10 hours of sleep a night. Most don’t get anywhere near that. While they’re sleeping, their brain is working hard during a stage of cognitive maturation (not to mention how much their body is growing) and, according to The Sleep Foundation, that extra sleep supports their growing brain, including promoting attention, memory, and analytical thought – it can even help spark creativity.
#6 FOMO is REAL for Teenagers
When your daughter walks in the door totally depressed that she didn’t get invited to a big party on Friday night or your son is feeling left out because his friends “forgot” to invite him to go on spring break with them, you need to know that it hits your teen a lot harder than you might think. In fact, to them, it can be downright painful.
According to a study published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, people who felt socially excluded showed increased activity in regions of the brain associated with pain. And, because a lot of teenagers have a genuine FOMO (fear of missing out) and place a ton of importance on being accepted, included, and being part of the crowd, they’re especially vulnerable to this type of pain.
#7 Risky Behavior is at its Peak
First, it’s important to note that pushing boundaries is a normal part of teenage development. This is their time to establish their own identity and gain more independence and with that transition comes a fair amount of ‘testing the limits.’ But their brain doesn’t help matters much.
According to Psychology Today, “People often believe that teens engage in risky behavior because they are not very good at evaluating risk. But research in this area demonstrated that adolescents are just as good as adults at evaluating risk across a broad range of risky behavior.” What prompts them to engage in risky behavior has been linked to an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for mature self-regulation. That along with teens’ overall susceptibility to peer pressure and their brain’s internal “reward system” can make it hard for teens to make sound decisions.
What brain imaging studies have shown is that certain areas of the brain make teenagers more sensitive to rewards or peer relationships (including peer pressure) which can trigger teens to follow along with their friends – even if it involves risky behavior.
#8 Moodiness: You Can Thank Their Brain for That
There’s a whole lot going on in our teens’ bodies, including a surge of hormones that can trigger erratic behavior and mood swings, but their underdeveloped prefrontal lobe, which helps manage their self-control, judgment and decision-making are also to blame for their moodiness.
Your teen might fly off the handle when you ask them to take the dishes out of the dishwasher or clean their bedroom. They may react too quickly or impulsively, or overreact when you ask about their grades or why they missed curfew – so much of it is completely out of your teen’s control.
#9 Their Brain Could Make Them Vulnerable to Addiction
A brain under construction coupled with poorly developed coping and decision-making skills, and a strong desire to be accepted and fit in means teens sometimes turn to alcohol, drugs or prescription pills to cope or feel part of the crowd. What researchers have found is that these substances can trigger “reward chemicals” in the brain, creating signals of pleasure. And, considering teens are often hard-wired to seek immediate gratification, drugs or alcohol may give them what they need to deal with life’s pressure.
It’s important to talk with your teen about drinking and drugs early and seek out alternatives including exercise, mindfulness, hobbies or sports to help them deal and cope with stress and anxiety.
#10 The Brain Remodel Doesn’t Last Forever
While the intense transition of our teen’s brain has a few booby traps that we need to help our teens steer clear of, the more we educate ourselves and our kids about what’s happening in their brains (and the normalcy of it all), the more we can help our kids ride through the crazy brain construction phase of their lives with as little turmoil as possible.