Why is Sleep so Important to Young Teenagers?

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.

It has been studied that teenagers need 8.5 to 9.25 hours of sleep every night.But two thirds of teenagers presumably in high school receive only or less than seven hours of sleep.This is probably due to the fact that forty three percent of high schools that are public start before 8:00

A teenager needs 8-10 hours of sleep on average and only 15% of teenagers get 8 ½ hours of sleep a night.

Many teens do not get enough sleep due to early start times and increased homework loads. Teen brains have different biological clocks that younger kids. This means that teen brains require eight- and a half to nine- and a half hours of sleep

Teenagers are only getting 6-7 hours of sleep a night, while they need 10. Fifty-nine percent of middle school students and eighty-seven percent of high school students are getting less than the recommended 8 1/2 to 9 ½ hours of sleep a night. Schools that have a start time of 8:30 a.m. or later give students the opportunity to get the recommended amount of sleep on school nights.

Teens usually get 4-6 hours of sleep every night. However, studies show that teens need about 9 ½ hours of sleep. Knowing these facts, are teens really getting enough sleep? The average school day starts as early as 7:40 in the morning! The CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior survey in 2011 showed that 60% of U.S. high school students get fewer than 8 hours of sleep on school nights and 40% get fewer than 6 hours.

Teenagers need between 8 ½ and 9 ½ hours of sleep each night. With all of the homework they get every day and how early they have to get up in the morning it’s hard for teenagers to get the recommended amount of sleep each night. Teenagers don’t get enough sleep because school starts too early.

And because of the developmental phase they are going through, teenagers need 9-10 hours of sleep to be at their best. However, daily life is scheduled around adults, who need 7-8 hours of sleep to be at their best. Now since adult bodies release melatonin earlier, it is much easier for them to get the required amount of sleep than it is for teenagers, and this difference is where the main cause of sleep deprivation in teenagers lies. As a result, teenagers are sleeping less and are not getting the most out of school, whilst simultaneously damaging their

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

Students continue to work late into the night to meet the pressing homework deadlines, sacrificing much needed sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens need 8.5 to 9.25 hours

Most of teens in america only get 6 hours of sleep this is mostly caused by phones in bedrooms. at night teens should keep their cell phones in a different room because it is a distraction to sleeping and school.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens require just as much sleep as they did when they were children which is about 9 ¼ hours of sleep a night because their brain is still developing.(1) For a teen to get a minimum of 9 ¼ hours of sleep they would need to go to bed at about 9 pm to wake up at around 6 am to get to class by 7:30 am. That’s if they don’t have to catch the bus which would make their wake time even earlier. The average time that teens fall asleep is 11 pm or later.(3) Teachers say if students are tired then it’s their own fault. Teachers tell students they need to go to bed earlier but a study showed that teens not going to sleep before 11, may not be their own fault. Circadian rhythm is the internal alarm clock inside the body that tells the body when to go to sleep and when to wake up.(5) The circadian rhythm sends a signal to release melatonin in saliva which makes the body go to sleep.(5) This secretion occurs later at night in teens and later in the morning which causes teens to go to bed later but not be able to wake up earlier.(5) Along with medical reasons, teens can’t go to bed early because of busy schedules. They have to go to school for 8 hours a day then some have sports, work, chores and on top of that all homework. There is only 24 hours in a day and teens can only handle so much being sleep

To begin, school starting as early as it is, teens don’t get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep is affecting the body negatively. Teens usually get six to seven hours of sleep but Dr. Cora Breuner says, “ We truly believe that our teenagers are getting six to seven hours of sleep a night, and they need eight to 10 (Shute).” Sleep deficit is what most teenagers face. Teens try to redress this by consuming caffeine. Caffeinating to get through the day or trying to sleep more on weekends cannot fix this problem (Shute). In fact it makes it worse.

Study author Dr. Robert Vorona, an associate professor of internal medicine in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia stated “‘Teenagers need over nine hours of sleep a night, and it looks like a large number of teens don’t get sufficient sleep . . . that relates to the time that high schools begin’” (qtd. in Holhan 1). I believe the amount of sleep a student can get is largely based on the time his or her school begins.

Many teens in America are waking up tired from a lack of sleep. Most do not get the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep and this affects them greatly. Sleep deprivation can lead to poor performance in school and diseases such as obesity and anxiety. Teens need more sleep and one thing can lead to this goal, pushing back school start times.