Latest Teen Excuse

HORMONES GET BLAMED FOR JUST ABOUT EVERY ADolescent foible, so here's another to add to the list: teenagers may stay up later than younger kids because of physical changes during puberty, a study in the journal Sleep suggests. Until now, researchers (and certainly parents) assumed that night-owl adolescents were either being rebellious or pressured by friends. But a study of 458 sixth-graders, controlled for some social factors, found that students who were more physically mature chose to go to bed later than those just entering puberty. The same students also slept later on weekends than their prepubescent peers. The conclusion: puberty's biological changes may trigger an adjustment in kids' internal clocks, keeping them alert till the wee hours. Next hypothesis: it's hormones that make teens gab endlessly on the phone.