The Importance Of Sleep

The age of adolescence can be a very fun time for kids growing into adults, but many teens across the country are finding it difficult to function to their fullest on a daily basis, because many of them are faced with a lack of sleep. What many adolescents do not know is that it is not their fault! Their circadian rhythm, or the part of the brain that tells us when a good time to go to sleep is, changes during puberty, and usually has teens not feeling tired until at least eleven o’clock at night. Combine this with early school start times, and it can now be seen why more and more teens are becoming walking zombies. Sleep is essential to every human being, but it is even more important during the age of adolescence, because teens are maturing,

As a result, those not finding enough time to snooze are seeing how crucial sleep is to their well-being. Teens being deprived of their sleep are experiencing effects on their health, concentration, and emotion regulation. Everyone strives to live a happy healthy life, and getting enough sleep is a key component to achieving this, but with the lack of sleep teens are getting, they are experiencing negative effects on their health. Less sleep can lower one’s impulse control, and thus making it more likely for someone to grab a brownie rather than broccoli (Kowalski). Teens with less sleep might eat too much or eat unhealthy foods like sweets and fried foods, which in turn leads to weight gain (“Teens and Sleep” 2). Sleep deprivation can also heighten the effects of alcohol if it is being used, and possibly increase one’s use of caffeine or nicotine (“Teens and Sleep” 2). Another effect of less sleep for teens regards possible mental illness, or the ability to manage stress. Adequate sleep is important to maintaining good mental health, and Kyla Wahlstrom, an expert on education and

Doing well in school is very important for teens if they want to be successful in the future, but limited sleep is affecting their school performance. Psychologist, James B. Maas, from Cornell University, shared his experience with students, “You can be giving the most stimulating, interesting lectures to sleep-deprived kids early in the morning or right after lunch, when they’re at their sleepiest, and the overwhelming drive to sleep replaces any chance of alertness, cognition, memory or understanding,”(Carpenter). When early school start times are tossed into the mix with a teen’s changing circadian rhythm, a destructive path is being created for early morning sleepiness. Insufficient sleep leads to difficulties in school, such as lack of concentration, or possibly even disciplinary issues. Researchers at the University of Minnesota conducted a study on seven-thousand high-school students, where they looked at the difference between a 7:15 a.m. start time versus an 8:40 a.m. start time. Students with later start times reported more sleep on school nights, being less sleepy during the day, and earning slightly higher grades. On top of that, they also experienced fewer depressive feelings and behaviors. Students who were earning poorer grades were getting only twenty-five minutes less of sleep, and were