Your Teen Is Not Lazy, Just Sleep Deprived
Table Of Contents
- Introduction
- Teens are Not Adults
- What Can Parents Do?
- Make Sure Your Teens Aren’t Rushed
- Video: Tips to Help Your Teen Sleep Better
Introduction
How many parents dread trying to get their sleep deprived teenager out of bed each morning for school?
Neither alarm clock, music nor clanging of spoons on metal pots seems to make them move an inch.
You have to wonder whether your teen is just trying to avoid going to school or really is that tired.
Teens are Not Adults
Even though teens may look like adults, be as tall as the adults and desperately want to act like an adult, their bodies are still developing. As a result, teens need much more sleep than most get.
Long after you go to bed, your teen is watching a video, talking on the phone and instant messaging several friends at once.
Unless a parent pulls the plug on late night amusements, many teens are awake well past midnight even though they have to catch the 7:45 AM school bus.
That’s going full tilt for 14-18 hours a day and trying to get by on six hours or less of sleep!
No wonder high school teachers hate first period because so many students are barely awake. It’s tough to teach over the snoring.
Or teens show up at school with high caffeine drinks to stay awake. Fact is, there’s no substitute for sleep and repeating this sleep deprivation pattern over time is dangerous.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that over 100,000 auto accidents are caused by inattention due to fatigue.
More than half of those tiredness related accidents involve teen drivers. You can deny that staying up late is a problem, but poor concentration and slower reflexes prove that you’re wrong.
If your teen doesn’t get enough sleep, don’t be surprised when grades fall. It’s not possible to study and retain information when your mind is tired and stressed out. And here’s another concern, sleep loss is associated with depression.
Whether your teen isn’t sleeping because of staying awake to worry or if the sleep deprivation is altering their self-image, the fact is that teens need eight to nine hours of sleep to be healthy, active and alert.
What Can Parents Do?
What can you do to make sure your teen gets a good night sleep? Set rules and keep them. If necessary, take the television and computer out of the teen’s room until balance is restored.
Make it a household rule to turn off the television, video games and other electronic stimuli at least thirty minutes before bedtime. Ask your teen to turn off the cell phone at bedtime.
If that does not work, take the phone over night. Nothing is going to happen that can’t be left in a voice mail and heard the next morning.
Use two clocks without a snooze alarm. If your teen fails to get moving before the second alarm rings, then you do the wake up call. Waking up ten minutes before the bus is no way to start the day.
Make Sure Your Teens Aren’t Rushed
Teens need to have at least half hour to get up, shower and have a snack, power bar and juice to start the day. Be stubborn in requiring that your teen gets more sleep.
If you do, you’ll see an improvement in your teen’s mood, attitude, grades and alertness.
Great Video with Tips to Help Your Teen Sleep Better
Dr. Wendy Troxel’s is a sleep scientist for the Rand Corporation. Her research focuses on the interface between sleep, the social environment, and health, and on implications for public policy.
