Dina Aziz
Editor '18
Sleep deprivation can affect teens, but adults as well, by impacting their mental health and function throughout the day in physical, emotional, intellectual, and social aspects. At least 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night is required for a productive, healthy mind; however, only 15% of teenagers acquire this daily value of sleep. It is unhealthy to have irregular sleep patterns in which one sleeps very late during the school week, usually at 1 am, and then sleep in late on the weekends. This negatively impacts the individual’s biological clocks and will hurt the quality of his or her sleep. An efficient amount of sleep is essential for the young mind of a teenager to grow.
Continuously under sleeping can result in emotional, physical, intellectual, and social impacts. Low self-esteem, increased stress, and anxiety are all emotional impacts that devolve from stress. When you avoid sleeping, you become tired, and with tiredness your body becomes deficient. This may make the teen self-conscious and more sensitive throughout the day. Not sleeping enough affects your entire day, not just the night. Some physical impacts are weight gain, increased drug usage, like nicotine or caffeine, for energy, acne, and overeating, which can lead to obesity. If the tired teen is consistently sleeping throughout the day, he or she may resort to drug usage to stay aware. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants, with nicotine also acting as a sedative, which will perk the person up and give the sleep-deprived child energy in an unhealthy way that will damage the body in the long term. Also, during sleep, essential processes that are required for normal functions are done, so if you do not sleep enough, these processes cannot be continued.
One process that is done over the night is fat loss and storage, so if you avoid sleeping, you are more likely to be obese or gain weight. Some possible intellectual impacts on a student would be the loss of common sense, poorer decision-making skills, forgetfulness, having trouble absorbing new information, or lacking concentration. This can cause troubles in schools as teenagers may be worse in class, have less understanding of the questions, come unprepared, and start failing. Sleep-deprivation makes it harder to learn and focus in on the teacher because all you want to do is sleep.
A teen may be socially impacted by the development of aggressive or inappropriate behaviors, or having difficulty maintaining relationships. A child may be more likely to act out in class or resort to violence if he or she is not receiving enough sleep. Parents want to believe that their children are sleeping enough; 90% of parents reported in a survey to the National Sleep Foundation that they thought their child was getting enough sleep, but 60% of the kids admitted to daytime sleepiness. Another percentage of the children could believe that they can get away with sleeping late, which is not healthy; everyone needs around 8 hours of sleep per night, even if you do not show extreme physical signs of sleepiness.
It is essential that teenagers especially get around 8 hours of sleep per night to be able to function properly and grow. During one’s childhood and teenage years, even up to the age of 25, the brain is still growing, so it is necessary that everything possible is done to keep the person healthy and on track for proper growth. Teenagers need to sleep more to be the healthiest and happiest they can possibly be.
Editor '18
Sleep deprivation can affect teens, but adults as well, by impacting their mental health and function throughout the day in physical, emotional, intellectual, and social aspects. At least 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night is required for a productive, healthy mind; however, only 15% of teenagers acquire this daily value of sleep. It is unhealthy to have irregular sleep patterns in which one sleeps very late during the school week, usually at 1 am, and then sleep in late on the weekends. This negatively impacts the individual’s biological clocks and will hurt the quality of his or her sleep. An efficient amount of sleep is essential for the young mind of a teenager to grow.
Continuously under sleeping can result in emotional, physical, intellectual, and social impacts. Low self-esteem, increased stress, and anxiety are all emotional impacts that devolve from stress. When you avoid sleeping, you become tired, and with tiredness your body becomes deficient. This may make the teen self-conscious and more sensitive throughout the day. Not sleeping enough affects your entire day, not just the night. Some physical impacts are weight gain, increased drug usage, like nicotine or caffeine, for energy, acne, and overeating, which can lead to obesity. If the tired teen is consistently sleeping throughout the day, he or she may resort to drug usage to stay aware. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants, with nicotine also acting as a sedative, which will perk the person up and give the sleep-deprived child energy in an unhealthy way that will damage the body in the long term. Also, during sleep, essential processes that are required for normal functions are done, so if you do not sleep enough, these processes cannot be continued.
One process that is done over the night is fat loss and storage, so if you avoid sleeping, you are more likely to be obese or gain weight. Some possible intellectual impacts on a student would be the loss of common sense, poorer decision-making skills, forgetfulness, having trouble absorbing new information, or lacking concentration. This can cause troubles in schools as teenagers may be worse in class, have less understanding of the questions, come unprepared, and start failing. Sleep-deprivation makes it harder to learn and focus in on the teacher because all you want to do is sleep.
A teen may be socially impacted by the development of aggressive or inappropriate behaviors, or having difficulty maintaining relationships. A child may be more likely to act out in class or resort to violence if he or she is not receiving enough sleep. Parents want to believe that their children are sleeping enough; 90% of parents reported in a survey to the National Sleep Foundation that they thought their child was getting enough sleep, but 60% of the kids admitted to daytime sleepiness. Another percentage of the children could believe that they can get away with sleeping late, which is not healthy; everyone needs around 8 hours of sleep per night, even if you do not show extreme physical signs of sleepiness.
It is essential that teenagers especially get around 8 hours of sleep per night to be able to function properly and grow. During one’s childhood and teenage years, even up to the age of 25, the brain is still growing, so it is necessary that everything possible is done to keep the person healthy and on track for proper growth. Teenagers need to sleep more to be the healthiest and happiest they can possibly be.