The Biology of Puberty

- Basically, my acne got so bad that finally they were like, "It's time.

It's time for the nuke on your face."

(nuke explodes) They gave me tretinoin.

- Was that worth having clear skin?

(Bethany laughs) (playful music) (playful music) - Do you talk to your kids about puberty?

- Me?

My kids are three and eight.

- I was talking to America.

- Oh!

(playful music) (playful music) - Socially, puberty can be a disaster for teens.

- I feel like there were a lot of mood swings, temper flare-ups, and tears.

How does... Why?

Why, Alok, why?

- The brain!

The brain does everything.

(laughs) I don't have all the answers, but!

- You have so many though.

- Here's what we do know.

We know that the brain is gonna really grow in volume during puberty.

- [Bethany] Really?

- With girls' brains growing slightly before guys' brains, which may be coinciding with the timing of puberty between girls and boys.

I mean, the brain is a target for sex steroids.

And so you know that all these are gonna be ramped up during puberty.

And this is gonna cause a maturation of different parts of the brain.

In fact, the area involved in impulse control, matures later than the rest of the brain, which can lead to behaviors that appear, you guessed it, more impulsive.

And all this may relate to some of the changes in mood, tempers, you know, anxiety, stress, all the things that come with the teen pubertal brain.

- Pubertal, that sounds like an 80's video game.

(funky electric music) (funky electric music) - I think I hear a lot of people saying like, "Oh my gosh, my teen is having crazy outbursts and tempers."

And you know, "Doesn't want to speak to me anymore!"

We know that the brain is developing.

We know that teens are also going through kind of a critical time of life.

They're going through junior high and high school.

There's a lot of like, pressures outside and we wanna make sure that if there's something underlying and it's not related to puberty, that we're addressing that as well.

It could be depression, could be anxiety, could be substance abuse, could be bullying.

- So, if you suspect it's more than a pubertal (game sounds) mood swing, then talk to your doctor.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Teens really need sleep.

- Yes.

- They need like 8 to 10 hours cause it's really important for development and growth, especially during puberty.

During sleep, the pituitary gland releases growth hormone, which helps the body grow and repair itself.

These are all really important things during puberty and also, so is sleep hygiene.

- Sleep hygiene?

So like, scrub your sleep with washcloth?

No?

A loofah.

- So you described to me the environment you create for your kids when it's time to go to bed.

- Oh, the bedtime routine.

- The bedtime routine.

- Dim the lights - Yes.

- Get on the jammies, soothing music, soothing story.

That's sleep hygiene?

- You take that and you translate that to teen world.

- Okay.

- So, same thing with the routine bedtime and dimming down the lights - Put the jammies on.

- Jammies.

- Read them a book.

- If your teen will let you read them a book.

But no tablets, screens, computers, phones, all of that.

- Don't be doctor.

Be realistic.

How long before bed should we put our teens' electronics away?

- I asked for one hour.

- One hour?

Okay, thanks for working with us.

(guitar music) (guitar music) In puberty, I had a beard of acne.

I had a big, giant like ecosystem of acne on my chin.

- [Alok] Ecosystem!

- Yeah, I could not get rid of.

I used some kind of creams, kind of like derma cream and it smelled just like eucalyptus.

- But your skin's beautiful now!

- Pshh.

Thank you.

My therapist says say thank you.

Why does it happen?

Like, why all of a sudden?

(popping) Like what's trying to get out?

Your childhood?

Is your childhood trying to jump out of your face?

Is that what it is?

So, we all have sebaceous glands in our skin.

These produce something called sebum.

Sebum.

Is that like ocean butt?

- [Alok] giggles Sebum.

Sebum is a natural oil which usually coats, moisturizes, and protects our lovely skin.

Now, during puberty those hormones are going to come and they're gonna like plump up all the sebaceous glands creating more sebum, which can then go and get clogged in your skin and this loving bacteria called Propionibacteria acnes, hence the "acne," end up getting trapped inside the pores where they multiply.

Now what happens then is your immune system reacts.

And that's when you start getting all the red, the inflammation, those little white heads, all that.

And so you know, what we tell people was like, make sure you wash your face, you've got to keep your pores cleaned, but in some cases...

Medication.

Kids need to get medication.

Take them to a dermatologist if they need something stronger, some specialized care but make sure you're always checking in with them because acne is really distressing during puberty.

- [Alok] (roars) What up, acne?!

(Latin music) (Latin music) What about the birds and the bees?

- And the flowers and the trees!

That's always a conversation parents look forward to, right?

- I can't wait!

(laughs) But jokes aside, it should happen.

It has to happen.

Decide when it's best to talk to your teen about sex, and everything that comes with it.

Can I rephrase that?

Please do.

Find a way to inform your teen.

If you don't feel comfortable doing it, get them in front of someone who does feel comfortable doing it.

Whether that is Auntie Jane or Uncle Joe or a pediatrician or a therapist.

Even better, because it's not just about learning about sexual health.

It's also understanding things like pregnancy and STDs.

Sometimes I hear mom friends say, "how can I help my kid through puberty?"

But I don't know if you can help a kid go through a process that's part of growing up and maturing.

I think... - Part of life.

Yeah!

I think what we can do is support them through a really difficult, tricky time.

Make it relatable to your teen, share some of your own stories, tell them what you went through.

It'll kind of help break all the pubertal ice.

Yeah, let them know that you're there for them, even though they really don't want you to be there at all.

They think they don't want you to be there, but they're really happy when you're there.

And if you have any questions, chat with your doctor.

The vast majority of times the puberty questions, all the things related to hormones, can easily be answered by your healthcare professional.

Be empathetic.

Really listen to your child, and let them know that they can come to you and talk to you about anything.

Just really create trust.

I tell my high school athletes, I say sleep will make you better on the football field or basketball field or in swimming pool.

Wherever.

Give me one hour.

- He said basketball field.

Basketball court.

That's why meant.

I got excited.

Also, who's to say you can't play basketball on a field?

You can, you definitely can.

- Hmm?

Somewhere out there as somebody who's watching this who plays basketball on a field and they're like, pssh, I'm not watching the show anymore.