Parents have always suffered with getting their teens to bed at an early time, but now it’s even worse. Electronics and technology are keeping teens up even more and this is not good. A study conducted by the University of British Columbia found that 70% of kids say they’re tired all the time, which is affecting their school work, their mood and brain growth.
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Many teens do not realize how important sleep is, which is why it’s the parents responsibility to educate them about why they should turn off their phones and get some rest. The number of teens that go to bed with their cellphone under their pillow is around 95%.
Problems Due to Lack of Sleep
- Headaches
- Mood disorders
- Pain-related problems
- Fidgety
- Making poor judgement
- Problems with day-to-day tasks
- No energy
- Can’t concentrate or solve problems
- Forgetful
- Prone to pimples and other skin problems
The average adult needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep each day and for teens the number is higher at 9.25 hours a day. Unfortunately they are only getting between 7 and 7.5.
Most people assume that when you go to sleep you do it to get some rest and feel refreshed the next day. While this is true, your body doesn’t stop working just because you are asleep. Sleep has a deep effect on your mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Sleep plays a very important role in learning. When you sleep, your brain is still working, processing information you learned throughout the day and filtering information during REM and non-REM sleep. It helps you remember information when you need it. This is why when you pull an all-nighter to study for an exam and don’t get any sleep, your ability to learn new information can drop by up to 40%.
Your blood pressure and body temperature drops when you sleep. This is why many sleep experts recommend that you sleep in a cool room because it’s mimicking what your body is doing. Your intestines quiet down while you’re sleeping, your heart rate and breathing slows down and your liver starts detoxifying. You release growth hormones that help teens grow, but also help build your bodies stronger as you age. As you sleep your hunger hormones also get regulated and when you don’t get enough sleep, your hormones are off and you start gaining weight.
These are only a couple of reasons why you need sleep. Teens need their sleep to grow and to be able to absorb new information that keeps their mind growing as they age. It’s important for parents to insist that their teens sleep more and not sleep with their cellphones because not only is it dangerous for their health, but also the sounds from it keep them up late.
NEXT: The Talk: The Birds, The Bees and The Dangers of Technology