Here's the bottom line on teens and sleep.

  • Merely 20% of teens report that they get enough sleep every night while 45% say they probably don't get enough sleep. According to studies done by the National Sleep Foundation, many claim to stay up late to finish homework, watch television or be with friends. Notice that the amount sleep teens are getting decreases as they get older. Teens also stay up later on non-school nights when they have more opportunities to go out. Some teens also try to go to bed earlier on school nights before testing the next day.

The amount of sleep a person needs varies by age. Are you getting enough sleep?

  • A lot of people are not aware of how much sleep they need and this hinders their ability to make time to get the sleep they need. Notice how the number of hours of sleep needed decreases by age. However, teens and adults still need sufficient amounts of sleep and, as explored further later on, sleep deprivation causes a wide array of negative effects.

Lacking enough sleep is known as sleep deprivation and it causes many negative effects on health.

Short term effects:

  • mood changes
  • difficulty concentrating
  • impaired performance
  • memory problems
  • disorientation
  • hallucinations/paranoia
  • clumsiness
  • weakened immune system
  • low reaction time

Long term effects:

  • being prone to causing accidents
  • inability to consolidate memories
  • long term negative impact on problem solving
  • higher risk for heart disease, heart attack, diabetes, stroke
  • long term depression
  • higher blood pressure
  • weight gain
  • rapid aging
  • poor judgement