These three articles, reported on by NPR and the National Sleep Foundation, detail the needs and challenges that teenagers face when trying to get enough sleep, and what some communities are doing to help.
You can read the full articles here:
High Schools Starting Later to Help Sleepy Teens
Helping Teens Make Peace with Sleep
Sleep and Teens – Biology and Behavior
Below are a few interesting excerpts from the articles
“Q: How much sleep do teens need?
And how much sleep are they realistically getting? Based on current data, we think that most teens need on the order of 9-plus hours nightly to have optimal sleep. The NSF poll data indicate that most teens fall short of this goal, many by a considerable amount.
Although we think that the need for sleep does not really change across adolescence, the amount of sleep young people get does decrease in older teens. Thus, the sleep deficit grows right along with the youngster.”
Quoted from Sleep and Teens – Biology and Behavior
“Research studies have documented that two-thirds of teenagers experience a shifting of the internal clock toward much later sleep times.
Emsellem says our society’s 24/7 culture makes things worse.”As we have more and more ways to stay connected at night, we’ve seen an exaggeration of the night-owlism in teenagers,” Emsellem says.
To fight back, Emsellem urges parents to take televisions and computers out of teens’ bedrooms — which is easier said than done. And she encourages a strict turn-off time, with the exception of music-playing devices.”I encourage teens to listen to music at night, and make a playlist that’s soothing,” Emsellem says. When the volume is low, and the room is dark, the environment promotes sleep.
Emsellem also recommends:
— Remove clutter from your teens’ bedrooms.
— Paint walls calm colors, such as soft blues and greens, tan, light yellow or peach.
— Schedule early dinners; big meals close to bedtime require digestive processes that can keep you awake.
— Have your teen shower at night and set clothes out in the evening, too, so he or she can get a few more minutes of sleep in the morning.
— Encourage more exercise if your teen is not participating in a sport.
— Limit caffeinated drinks.
— Help your teen set a regular sleep-wake routine that won’t vary by more than two hours on the weekends.”
Quoted from Helping Teens Make Peace with Sleep
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