Research shows that teens need 8-10 hours of sleep to be high-functioning; however, only 15% of teenagers even receive 8.5 hours of shut eye. Sleep helps keep your mind stay alert and active while it’s awake and is the most important part of your day. Lack of sleep can result in memory loss, inability to focus or concentrate, the slowing of metabolism, and therefore weight gain, and can even make you more prone to acne. Sleep difficulties have been linked to depression and ADHD as well. Granted, school, homework and jobs can put limitations on the sleep a teenager gets. In order to compensate for a sleep-deprived week, most teens will stay in bed late on weekends. Although they believe this catches them up on sleep, it can worsen the effects and often will leave people even more exhausted. So what is really causing this pandemic of sleep-deprivation?
The answer is in the quality of sleep, not the length. By sleeping in every weekend, biological clocks are thrown off and it can further worsen how the body accommodates during school days. It’s most beneficial to receive equal amount of sleep each night so the body can adjust accordingly.
The quality of sleep also spurs from bedtime rituals. Studies show that 95% of people use electronics during the hour before sleep. It’s believed that the light from the screen disrupts the body’s biological clock as well and interferes with sleep cycles, which is why products such as Apple have added a “Nighttime” setting that dims the screen. Sadly, a couple screen alterations isn’t going to solve everything.
So what can you do? Remove as many electronics from your room as possible. Many teens find it impossible to separate from their phones before bed, so instead try removing other distractions like video game consoles and TV’s and try to limit phone use within the hour before sleep. Opt for a warm bath, a good book or anything to unwind and calm your mind so you won’t be left tossing and turning in bed. Another tip: if you can’t sleep, don’t stay in bed. Get up, take a shower, get a drink of water and refresh yourself (without electronics!) before attempting sleep once again.
At the end of the day, celebrity gossip, the next episode of Stranger Things or goodnight texts to your sweetheart, can wait. Your health comes first and sleep plays too big of a role to ignore.
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