Recent studies have found that for each hour of sleep lost by teenagers, their chances of depression increase by 38 percent. The consequences of sleep deprivation have been given more attention in recent years, along with the outcry from parents, educators, and students alike to take action against school hours that limit their opportunities to obtain a full night’s sleep. This essay will analyze the consequences sleep deprivation has on adolescents both mentally and physically, and how those consequences may turn into long-term health issues, what teachers and parents can do to help the situation, as well as look at attempts at awareness and possible legislative solutions for the issue. The consequences that follow lack of sleep have dramatic effects on the quality-of-life of a person. Adolescents have a natural body clock that lead them to stay up late, and wake up late, but right now, they are going to sleep later and later, and waking up earlier. This unbalance in their sleep schedules is mainly due to their demanding school schedules that the majority of the time are not very forgiving. Research shows that consistent lack of sleep has a serious effect on an adolescent’s mood and behavior, results show that drowsiness has similar reactions to the body as excessive amount of alcohol (Williamson). This results in teenagers putting themselves and others at risk when they drive, or do things that are potentially dangerous, they are at risk of not having complete control of
Students,especially students who drive to and from school are also at risk of more car crashes because of sleep deprivation. Additionally getting good sleep is important to maintaining good health,staying awake and alert, and working at peak performance. Although students can simply sleep earlier, many need that time to study and complete homework, with a later start time students can get their homework down and get a sufficient amount of sleep.”According to this research, the ideal amount of sleep for the average teenager falls between 8.5 and 9.5 hours a night, and teenagers who receive adequate sleep benefit from better physical and mental health, safety, and academic performance. It also revealed that puberty causes a “phase delay” in teenagers, which shifts the time that teenagers fall asleep back by two
The consequences of sleep deprivation during the teenage years are particularly serious. Teens spend a great portion of each day in school when it starts early; resulting in a lack of sleep. Ultimately, sleep deprivation affects a student’s academic performance. When students lose sleep, they disrupt their sleep cycles and their bodies respond by decreasing their ability to concentrate and complete complex tasks. A prolonged period of cumulative sleep deprivation will affect their physical and mental well-being and consequently their capacity to learn.
A lot of people have at least once gotten little sleep during the week, and then tried to catch up on their sleep throughout the weekend. Studies show that when one tries to catch up on sleep throughout the weekend, it affects their attentiveness on Monday morning, and their ability to attain a regular sleep pattern, which is overall bad for their health (Telljohann 7). Sleep deprivation may also lead to more dangerous behavior, such as using sleeping pills at night. In a recent poll, 6% of teenagers admitted to using sleeping pills before going to bed after a long day. 5.7% of students said that if they are having trouble falling asleep, they will have a cigarette to calm themselves before bed. Also, 2.9% of adolescents will drink alcohol before going to bed to ensure that they sleep well (Telljohann 1). What if parents found out their teen was engaging in this dangerous behavior? Sleep is a necessity to everyone, and some teens are finding that they can’t always get the amount they need.
Sleep deprivation throughout the teen years is a very serious problem, spending most of the day at school, teens who are sleep deprived have an impaired ability to stay alert, pay attention, solve problems, handle stress and retain information. Young
This scholarly journal article deliberates the necessity of sleep and the phenomenon that adolescent children are suffering from a lack of sleep. The loss of sleep can negatively af-fect a teenager’s academic performance, driving capabilities, cognitive abilities and more. Bryant and Gomez provide recommendations for combating the sleep deficiency with teens, which includes their caffeine intake, establishing specific bedtimes, and the use of technology. The authors reference several other articles done specifically on the use of electronic devices and their effects on a person’s ability to sleep.
Because of kids not getting enough sleep it increases obesity rates, depression, motor vehicle accidents (M.V.A.), and a lower quality of life. “Getting enough sleep is important and early start times are preventing many adolescences from
Sleep loss can take a devastating toll on the mind and body at any stage of life from early childhood to older adulthood. But, for teenagers, who are at a critical stage of development, skipping out on sleep can be particularly dangerous. One standout finding is that a lack of sleep affects the body the same way that drinking alcohol does. And like alcohol an insufficient amount of sleep can lead to impairments of mood, affect regulation, attention, memory, behavior control, executive function, and quality of life. In a study of nearly 28,000 suburban high school students, published earlier this year in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, found that each hour of lost sleep is associated with a 38 percent risk of feeling sad or hopeless and a 58 percent increase in suicide attempts. As well teens who sleep an average of six hours per night are also three times more likely to suffer from depression, a 2010 study found. Thus, the correlation between sleep deprivation and depression go hand in hand among teenagers. Also, losing sleep can also have a long-term negative effect on a teens physical health with poor sleep quality being linked to diabetes and obesity risk for teens. Sleep correlates with the well-being of teens, but it also closely relates with academic
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,
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
Many students today face a widespread chronic health problem: sleep deprivation. It’s important for teens to get 8 hours of sleep every night, but with having to get up early for school and staying up late doing homework most teens get around 4-5 hours causing them to be sleep deprived. Not sleeping enough and not sleeping well is very unhealthy, especially as a teen. As a matter of fact, there is quite a price to pay. School should start later because students would be more alert, get better grades, and have better mental and physical health.
Teenagers are notorious for staying up late. And late nights coupled with early-morning high school start times means kids are losing a great deal of valuable sleep. Sleep experts now know that teenagers need, in fact, more sleep than adults and children. Sleep studies have found, and Dr. Maas concludes that “adolescents need a minimum of 9 hours and 15 minutes of sleep each night to be fully alert during the day” (Crombie 2). Statistics show, however, that few young people even come close to getting their required amount of sleep, with only 15 percent sleeping 8 ½ hours or more during the week (Finger 2). The majority of America’s teenagers, according to a study released by Stanford University, get a scant 6 ½ hours of sleep on school nights (“Adolescent Sleep” 2). With such inadequate sleep, it is no wonder that teenagers slump through the school day; they are legitimately and desperately sleep deprived. The blame for teens’ sleep deprivation, however, often falls on their own weary
Ordinarily, many teenagers nationwide attend schools that begin before 8:30 A.M. However, most teenagers do not obtain the full 8 to 9 hours of sleep needed for their growing bodies. Maybe it’s because they had extracurricular activities or an increase of workload. But, whatever the reason is, they all have one thing in common: lack of sleep. So how can the problem be fixed? To fix this, schools nationwide can change the time school starts to a later time. Schools starting early can impact the students in a negative manner. Adolescents who do not get enough sleep are more likely to become overweight, not engaged during physical activities, suffer from depressive symptoms, perform unhealthy risk behaviors (i.e. drugs, alcohol, etc.), and have
It is estimated that only 15 percent actually get these amounts (Kids Suffer from Sleep Deprivation). This is particularly important for students who wish to do well in school. Dr. Carl Hunt, the director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, is spearheading a sleep campaign. Her philosophy is, “Sleep well, do well.” This is something that shouldn’t be taken to lightly. Sleep problems effect about 70 million Americans of all ages. Teens often have problems with daytime sleepiness. The old idea of early to bed, early to rise isn’t necessarily the best answer. Society is simply asking to much of teens (Sleep experts to teens). A combination of school, work, study and leisure, leaves very little time left for sleep. Being deprived of sleep definitely has an effect on how well students do in school and may be putting their health at risk. College students who stay up all night to study for a test or write a big paper that’s due often have no choice because of the pressures to do well and succeed, but at what price do they pay?
Adolescents don’t choose to stay up late; they do know the consequences of being tired the next day. “The starting time of school puts limits on the time available for sleep, this is a nonnegotiable limit established largely without concern
Due to reports of the consequences of lack of sleep in adolescents and children (i.e. Alfano et al., 2007; Gregory et al., 2005; Link & Ancoli-Israel, 1995; Meijer et al., 2000; Wolfson & Carskadon, 1998), the current study aimed to establish whether variations in sleep significantly affected the well-being and academic attainment of university students. It was hypothesised that those students with insufficient sleep would experience negative effects to their well-being and achieve poorer grades in university, and this would remain when controlling for the established predictors of both well-being and academic attainment.