The Department of Psychiatry of University of Pittsburgh summary article has shown that developmental changes in sleep, circadian rhythms, and neural processing of reward, is likely contribute to the initiation of alcohol use during adolescence.
Adolescence is a time of marked changes across sleep, circadian rhythms, brain function, and alcohol use. Starting at puberty, adolescents’ endogenous circadian rhythms and preferred sleep times shift later, often leading to a mismatch with the schedules imposed by secondary education. This mismatch induces circadian misalignment and sleep loss, which have been associated with affect dysregulation, increased drug and alcohol use, and other risk-taking behaviours in adolescents and adults.
Hasler BP1, Soehner AM2, Clark DB2. Sleep and circadian contributions to adolescent alcohol use disorder. Alcohol. 2015 Jun;49(4):377-87. doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2014.06.010. Epub 2014 Nov 7. Available online: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25442171
