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Being a teen can be an amazing time of discovery, learning, and friendship, but it’s also
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a time of rapid change, and emotional highs and lows where things can feel really ‘tough’.
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So, what’s going on in our brains and bodies that makes us feel this way?
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Why is being a teen so hard?
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We’re often told that the most important years of brain development are between 0-5,
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although recent research has found adolescent development to be equally important.
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During childhood, our brains continually grow, generating grey matter until they reach their
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maximum size, which for girls is around age 12 and boys around age 14. But even after this, the
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the brain works to become more efficient by cutting away unused grey matter that isn’t ‘exercised’
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by experience, and at the same time increasing myelin which is fatty tissue that insulates brain pathways.
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Puberty begins in the hypothalamus, where a protein called kisspeptin is produced,
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triggering the pituitary gland to unleash the hormones testosterone, estrogen and progesterone.
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These activate the ovaries and testes, but also cause you to seek emotionally charged experiences
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- whether it’s a movie to make you sob, or driving 180 km/h down the freeway.
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It causes your response to emotionally loaded images or sounds to be more intense,
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which is why listening to One Direction may produce large bouts of the feels.
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The area of the brain responsible for planning ahead and assessing risk is still immature in teenagers.
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Which is why teens are more likely to participate in high risk behaviour
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like unprotected sex and drinking and driving. Interestingly, in a simulated driving experience,
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adults and teens took the same amount of driving risks while alone; however, when surrounded
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by an audience of friends, teens took significantly more risks while adults were unaffected.
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What’s the benefit of this behaviour? Peer acceptance.
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In a study where teens were asked to rank music clips with and without knowing
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what their peers picked, their choices changed. Unlike small children and adults,
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feeling socially isolated as a teen creates feelings of intense unworthiness. This along with our
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biology can contribute to teens prioritizing friends over even family. As social animals,
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stepping outside the safety of our family creates genetically diverse populations,
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diminishing the likliness of inbreeding. In fact, teens have heightened social abilities like processing
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and evaluating facial expressions better than other age groups, allowing teens to be extremely
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cognisant of friends joy, sadness, or stress.
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Speaking of stress, the hormone released in stressful situations to help soothe the
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brain cells of children and adults has the opposite impact on teens, causing an increase
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in anxiety. Pair that with a change in circadian rhythms making you to want to wake three to
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four hours later than adults, it’s no wonder some people describe teens as emotionally
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‘moody’.
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On the other hand, teens are very physically healthy. The immune system is highly functioning,
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teens have increased tolerance to temperature changes and a high resistance to cancer.
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But despite physical fitness, records show that death rates increase by 200-300% after childhood
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due to motor vehicle accidents, homicide and suicide.
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Scientists believe that
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the many changes in white matter, grey matter, and connections in the brain may be to blame,
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with an increased risk of errors during this time.
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But with a greater number of synaptic connections, and increased plasticity, the teenage brain
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is primed to learn quickly and memorize content fast. Unlike an older brain, rooted in what
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it knows, teens can respond easily to their environment and make incredible strides in
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communication and socialization. Not to mention being passionate is incredibly valuable and
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taking risks is often what is needed to make changes in your life and the lives of others
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- being a teen can be tough, but it can also be amazing.
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If you want to know why teens are the biggest super fans and become obsessed with their
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favourite bands or shows, check out our latest AsapTHOUGHT on the Science of Fandom.
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Links in the description! And subscribe for more weekly science videos.
