Week 6
Sleep deprivation for teens
I enjoyed the article “Sleep deprivation may be undermining
teen health” by Siri Carpenter. When I look back to when I was a teenager, I
remember being one of those kids who tried to survive on 6 to 7 hours a night
of sleep. After reading about all the hazards sleep deprivation can cause, it
is no wonder I could not stay focused in school. The article talks about when a
teen enters puberty they need even more sleep than when they were in elementary
school and yet we are finding teenagers getting an average of only 6.5 hours.
The research that is now being done is very fascinating, they talk about how
experts believed that people didn’t need as much sleep as they grew older from
childhood to adulthood, and now they have discovered in the last few decades
that kids need considerably more sleep than younger children and adults, they
should be getting at least 9 hours of sleep. I learned how they are linking
poor grades and accidents to the lack of sleep teens get. If I could research
this further I would like to know why our government is not taking a serious look
at adjusting the start time for High school students, if we start school for
our younger kids later why is it such a huge deal to adjust it for the teens? I
understand that some teens now have jobs, and sports to attend too but perhaps
we as parents need to take a deeper look into what the end results of pushing
our teens can cause. From this reading I most want to remember to find a way to
make sure my own daughter gets the sleep she needs to continue to develop her
learning abilities, I am going to try to help her get the rest she needs and I
will remember now how much sleep teens really need. I hope that by the time she
enters High School they will push the start time back a bit.
I also hope to ensure good sleep habits with my children. I think it is good to start them from a young age to develop good sleeping habits. My self, I love to sleep. So to my children's benefit I usually have them in bed by 8 or 9pm. I know realize that this will be helpful to there brain functioning better as they get older.
ReplyDeleteThis sleep article was pretty interesting. Now that I am adult I wish they instituted nap time at work! I try and get 7-8 hours of sleep but find myself wanting to "catch up" on sleep on the weekends. When you think of all the stresses of puberty and how their brains are changing it's no wonder they need more sleep. I think that a lot of it has to do with parents instilling good sleep habits and making a night routine. I still try and do that as an adult.
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