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Snooze or Lose
By Tim Jahn
Does your teenager get 9.2 hours of sleep daily? No? Well, believe it or not, that’s the optimal amount of sleep teens need for healthy brain development and academic and extracurricular success. In fact, 8 hours of sleep – the right amount for adults – is insufficient for teens. Less than 10 percent of teens get enough sleep most school nights.
During puberty, a teen’s biological clock or circadian rhythm is reset so they stay up later at night and sleep later in the morning. |
The hormone melatonin that controls sleep is produced later in the evening so that a teenager may not be able to go to sleep until 11 pm or later.
This change in sleep patterns, combined with earlier start times in middle school, junior high and high school, produces a significant “sleep deficit” in adolescents.
What are the consequences of teen sleep deprivation? More than 20 percent of high school students fall asleep during class. Lack of sleep reduces attention and concentration. If students have difficult subjects in the first three periods, the risk of poor grades or failure is greater. Sleep deprived athletes aren’t able to perform at their peak ability and may be more susceptible to injury. Drowsy teen drivers are inattentive and have slower response times; more than half of crashes caused by a driver falling asleep at the wheel involve people under the age of 26. Lack of sleep makes teens (and adults) irritable and moody and has been linked to depression.
Dream snatchers
Changes in sleep patterns and early school start times are the primary contributors to the teen sleep deficit, but there are other sleep robbers.
- Homework: If the amount of homework is reasonable and students keep up with it daily, there should be no need for cramming and all-nighters that steal sleep and don’t improve performance.
- Employment: Working too many hours and late hours makes it harder to juggle school, work and social life, leaving little time for sleep.
- Caffeine: Teens shouldn’t consumer any beverages with caffeine, including many sodas, ice teas and energy drinks after noon.
- Screen time. Not only does the light from a laptop, TV and cell phone postpone melatonin production, but what’s seen on screens late at night can overstimulate the mind, making it hard to fall asleep.
Tim Jahn is a human ecology specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County. |
Getting more ZZZs
Here are some tips for getting more and better sleep that you can share with your teenager.
- Establish a routine time for lights out and waking up each school day and don’t vary it by more than two hours on weekends and holidays.
- Turn down the lights and turn off the screens. Darkness signals the brain to produce the melatonin that triggers sleep.
- Darkness, cool temperatures and quiet provide the best sleeping environment, so it’s a bad idea to fall asleep with the TV on.
- Use the bed only for sleeping. When teens eat, do homework, surf the Net or watch TV in bed, the signals for sleep get crossed.
- Avoid naps of more than 20 to 30 minutes. It can make it harder to fall asleep in the evening. Cat-naps or “micro-naps” are okay.
- Relax the mind before hitting the sack. Action movies, violent video games, even intense studying can inhibit sleep. Meditation or quiet reflection can set the stage for restful sleep.
For more information, visit the National Sleep Foundation at http://www.sleepfoundation.org
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