Sleeping Habits

As a person gets older, the amount of sleep needed each night gets less. Teenagers are an exception to that rule. The years from 15 to 18 packs on a whole new level of stress. Exams, homework, after school clubs, jobs, college, relationships, it’s all running through our heads at every second of every day. With a jammed packed schedule, hormones running wild, and teachers loading up the work, we could use some slack. If that could come in the form of a better night’s sleep, we’d be eternally grateful.

Teens, on average need around 9 ¼ hours of sleep per night, but many are nowhere near that mark. The average amount of sleep teens get on a school night is between 7 and 7 ¼ hours. Sleep researchers have said for many years that, due to the biology of human development, the sleep mechanism in teens does not allow the brain to fall asleep until about 11 p.m. and stays asleep until at least 8 a.m.. This explains why teens have a hard time going to sleep and waking up early. (Strauss)

As a result of a changing body and mind, adolescent sleep cycles have different needs than those of adults or younger children. As a matter of fact, Biologically, sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence -- meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00 pm (“Teens”). In addition to biological change in sleep patterns, teenagers also tend to have eccentric sleep cycles. Obtaining less than healthy hours of sleep during the school week and then catching up on their sleep on the weekends. Most teenagers during the school week, do not get the suggested amount of sleep. In fact, according to a recent poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, 80% of teenagers do not get the suggested amount of sleep of 9 hours on school nights (“School Start”). With changing bodies and minds, along with an increased amount of schoolwork and extracurricular activities, teenagers need more sleep than children of a younger age. Experts believe that moving back the start time of school for high school students will improve grades, test scores, and the overall health and personality of many students.

Only about fifteen percent of teens obtain the preferred eight hours of sleep they need to function properly (Neuroscience for Kids, 2010). Sixty percent of teens say that they are “tired” and fifteen percent fall asleep in class (School and Sleep Times, 2011). This shows that high schoolers are not getting

Most teenagers think that it is cool staying up late with friends, but the lack of sleep is slowly killing you with the toxins of society. A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention related lack of sleep to health risks such as being overweight,

It is clear that sleep deprivation has a significant effect on academic performance. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says that a lack of sleep impacts performance by reducing concentration, creating attention deficits, slowing reaction times, increasing distractibility, impairing decision-making skills and causing forgetfulness. AASM also says that sleep-deprived people are more prone to errors. These effects can have a serious impact on test scores and on the grades students receive on class

Russell Foster has an open discussion of reasons why sleep is important to humans. He mentions that “huge sectors of society are sleep-deprived.” On average, teens need nine hours of sleep for a healthy brain performance. But, nowadays teens are only getting about

Teens need at least 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep based on their biological clocks. The study found that teens increase their sleep, crash rates decline 16.5% during a period when teens crash rates throughout the state increased by 7.8%. Less sleep could lead to teens to be moody, irritable, and cranky. Inadequate sleep can also result in teens attention, memory, decision making, reaction time, and creativity.Additionally, they will get bad grades, fall asleep during class, and have school tardiness/absences.

The amount of sleep that teens, and young adults get at night is low. Teens need eight and a half to nine hours of sleep per night as doctors recommend(McKibben)(Reynolds). Many people in the United States only get around seven hours of sleep. Everyone has a unique sleep rhythm and for teens it seems harder for them to fall asleep and to wake up, compared to adults. Scientific studies suggest that females seem to inherit a longer

Not getting enough sleep can cause long term and short term health issues. Sleep deprivation can damage the immune system. It can also lead to an unhealthy body weight, bad memory, poor concentration and mood swings (Gilchrist). When people have poor concentration while they’re driving it can cause an accident injuring not only you, but other drivers and pedestrians.. A school in Fayette County, Kentucky changed the start of schools to an hour later. Even though the

Teens don't get the proper amount of sleep for their daily activities and their growing bodies. According to the national sleep foundation, teens need eight and a half to nine and half hours of sleep each night. Myself and others rarely ever get even seven hours of sleep. According to the C.D.C survey in 2015 showed that 73% of United States high school students get fewer than eight hours of sleep. Also a reported 43% of students get six or Fewer hours of sleep. I'm sure you have seen kids in your classes fall asleep because they had not got enough sleep the night before. According to Startschoollater.net, waking up early is considered the biggest culprit of teen sleep loss in the U.S. Evidence linking early school hours to teen sleep loss and related health performance problems is why the C.D.C, A.P.A and others are

The time in which teenagers wake up to go to school affects their natural sleep cycle. Most teenagers’ sleep cycles start about 11 p.m. and end around 8 a.m. Since school starts early in the morning and most students get up even earlier to catch the bus, teens only sleep 6 or 7 hours instead of the recommended minimum of 8 hours (startschoollater.net). When teens do not have enough rest, they tend to fall asleep easier and

Quite a few people believe that teenagers should just go to bed earlier and think that will solve the whole problem. But what most people don’t realize is during the onset of puberty, “most adolescents undergo a sleep phase delay,” meaning an adolescent will most likely fall asleep and wake up at a later time (Backgrounder). A teenager will naturally fall asleep around 11 pm or at a later

FACT: Scientific research is showing a correlation between poor sleep and health. If you’re not getting enough sleep and/or are waking frequently during the night, you may experience an elevation in blood pressure, which normally decreases during sleep. This can cause cardiovascular problems. Studies also have shown that lack of sleep can have an impact on blood sugar levels, with the body’s reaction being similar to insulin resistance.

It is recommended to get a good night’s sleep so that you are not tired the next day, sometimes even irritable. Losing sleep on a regular basis can lead to sleep deprivation which then can lead to anxiety, maybe even depression. Teenagers are recommended to get at least eight to ten hours of sleep at night to function better the next day. It is important for students to make sure they get the amount of sleep they know they