It seems like everyone is a little stressed out these days — and not even children in their “carefree” teen years are immune.
In fact, the changes that adolescents go through during that time of their life make them particularly susceptible to stress.
“The reality is that adolescence is a period of intense transition, marked by rapid social, emotional and physical changes that make it one of the most vulnerable stages of life,” said Mengya Xia, assistant professor in Arizona State University’s T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics.
In a recently released study, Xia, along with Yuan Zhang, a postdoctoral research scholar at the Sanford School, found that simple everyday habits, such as participating in sports and getting quality sleep, can significantly reduce stress and support well-being.
Using a 30-day diary method, researchers followed adolescents’ day-to-day experiences, capturing how fluctuations in stress, sleep and sports engagement intersect in real time. The findings offer a more nuanced picture of how small, consistent behaviors can make a meaningful difference during this turbulent stage.
Here, Xia share details about the study, and how parents, educators and teens themselves can better navigate the emotional highs and lows of adolescence.
Note: Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Question: Why is adolescence such a vulnerable time for stress and emotional changes?
Answer: Because adolescence is one of the most intense periods of change in life — second only to infancy. Adolescents are navigating rapid physical and hormonal shifts while trying to figure out who they are, manage changes in social life with family and friends, and keep up with growing academic pressure. With so much happening at once, stress can build quickly from multiple sources.
At the same time, their brains are still developing, especially in areas that help regulate emotions. This makes everyday challenges feel more intense.
These findings give us a clearer view of the emotional ups and downs of adolescence that may be missed when we focus only on more general or chronic stress.
Q: How did your 30-day diary approach allow you to see what other studies might miss?
A: The daily diary approach allowed us to track the day-to-day ups and downs within the same adolescent over a 30-day period. Studying those in-person differences is important because adolescents do not feel the same way every day. An adolescent may feel fine one day, stressed the next day and better again the day after. Our study was designed to capture these daily fluctuations.
The daily design also gave us a more realistic picture of how stress, sleep and sport experience are related in everyday life.
This kind of study design helps reveal patterns that are easy to miss in one-time surveys, especially by showing the difference between what is happening on a particular day and what is more generally happening across time.
Q: Sleep plays an important role in reducing stress. How does sleep before and after stress help teens cope differently?
A: Quality sleep before stress may function as preparation, helping adolescents start a day feeling more emotionally steady, more focused and more prepared to deal with stress when it comes. Sleep acts as a preparation mechanism, which provides adolescents with a stronger starting point so that they can better handle stress they encounter.
Second, stress does not always end when the day ends, but it can linger emotionally. Sleep after a stressful day may function as a reset, helping adolescents restore emotional balance and replenish the resources they need to cope. In this way, sleep may help them recover from the negative effects of prior-day stress and reduce the likelihood that those effects will spill over into the next day.
Q: Your research highlights sports as a “protective factor” — but it’s not just participation, it’s the experience. What does that mean?
A: That is a very important point. In our study, we are more interested in how adolescents feel during sport participation, because we believe sports may be especially beneficial when it feels positive, enjoyable, meaningful or confidence-building.
These benefits are not simply about performance or winning or being the star. Rather, they may come from feeling capable, feeling supported and connected to others, feeling proud of one’s effort or simply enjoying being active.
Sports can support adolescent well-being in several ways: physically, it can help adolescents release energy, build strength and feel healthier; psychologically, it may help them build confidence, develop self-efficacy and experience a sense of accomplishment; socially, it can give them opportunities to feel connected, supported and a sense of belonging.
These kinds of positive experiences may help adolescents manage stress better, because the activity feels emotionally rewarding and socially supportive.
Q: What do these findings tell parents, teachers or coaches about how to better support adolescents?
A: One important thing is that adolescent stress can change from day to day. Therefore, adults should not rely only on general status, such as thinking, “This adolescent seems fine overall.” An adolescent may appear OK in general and still be experiencing high stress on a particular day. Parents, teachers and coaches can be especially helpful by paying closer attention to the daily fluctuations in adolescents’ emotional well-being.
For parents, protecting routines around sleep, using strategies that promote better sleep quality, and encouraging sport in a way that emphasizes positive experience may be useful ways to support adolescents’ well-being.
For coaches, it is important to remember that winning or performance is not the only thing that matters. The emotional climate of sport also matters. A positive, encouraging sport experience may be just as important as the activity itself in helping adolescents manage stress and maintain well-being.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to teens dealing with daily stress, what would it be?
A: Keep small, healthy habits. Sleep and sports may seem simple, but they can make a real difference when life feels stressful.
I would also want adolescents to know that a hard day does not mean everything is falling apart. One important lesson from daily diary research is that emotions change, stress changes and today does not always feel like yesterday. Some days are especially stressful, but those days are temporary.
When you feel stressed, try to take care of yourself, keep your routines as much as you can, stay active if you want and reach out for support when you need it. Tomorrow is another day.
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