It will come as no surprise to you that sleep is important, specifically for teenagers, however it will also be unsurprising that this advice is usually ignored. One of the reasons for this is the lack of understanding possessed by teenagers on the matter.
Sleep is so important in the teenage years because during this time your brain is still developing, meaning getting a good night’s sleep benefits not only your mental development, but also your physical health, your memory, and your physical growth.
On the contrary, an inadequate night of sleep affects your attention span, and will most likely also affect how you’re doing in school.
It has been shown that not getting enough sleep can lead to mental illnesses, mainly depression, which is also one of the contributing factors to why the depression rates in young adults have risen over the past few years.
Also, a statistic from the National Library of Medicine shows that up to 40% of teenagers feel tired most of the time, which goes to show how it isn’t uncommon for a teenager to feel tired.
However, this isn’t entirely a teenager’s fault, and many of the reasons for their lack of sleep link to factors they can’t control, and the main reason is down to biology.
Some time around the age of puberty, a teenager's body’s biological clock is pushed forward, meaning that the said teenager will be unable to sleep at the time they are accustomed to, and could end up staying awake for multiple extra hours.
Another reason for a teenager’s lack of sleep is often school.
Be it that their time is taken up from extra-curriculars, or their teachers setting too much homework, or them having too many tests, most teenagers don’t have enough time to get all the work done during the day.
This is obviously not something they can change themselves, but sadly it still affects them more than the adults in their life may realise.
To improve your sleep schedule, experts recommend not looking at a screen (such as a phone or ipad) for at least an hour before going to bed.
This is because of the blue light emitted, which can trick your brain into thinking it’s daytime and make you unable to sleep.
It is also recommended to lessen your intake of caffeine. You could do this by simply not consuming any caffeine, or by avoiding it in the afternoon.
Jorjah Walters, a teenager who previously struggled with sleeping said that teenagers should “get into a night time routine”, and recommends “having a hot drink before bed” or just relaxing.
She also said that “having a stop-off point” really helped her fix her sleep schedule, so that she wouldn’t get carried away with her work and spend hours on it.
