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What Happens When Teens Do Not Get Enough Sleep

1
Sleep gives your body time to restore and rejuvenate body tissues. It also boosts brain functions by flushing out toxins. Therefore, lack of sleep can take a toll on an adult’s body. However, it poses serious health risks in teenagers. 

While teenagers should be getting enough rest, many do not have healthy sleeping habits. They stay up late chatting, watching movies, and playing video games. The late bedtimes and early wake-up schedules ruin their sleeping routines.

Here are just a few consequences of poor sleeping habits:

Obesity

Five

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years ago, The Heart Foundation found that over a third of adult Australians were overweight or obese. Sleep deprivation increases the risk of weight gain and a higher chance of developing Type 2 diabetes. Teens who have Type 2 diabetes have problems controlling their blood sugar levels due to inadequate sleep. Staying up late also encourages late-night snacks. The combination of unhealthy snacks and late dinner increases body weight.

Mental Health Issues

Lack of sleep is associated with feelings of hopelessness and sadness. While some children

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can get through a school week with little sleep, some cannot manage. They become miserable, irritable, and short-tempered. The fewer hours teenagers sleep, the higher the chances of depression. Physical exhaustion and overwhelming stress are not healthy for teenagers. If they fail to recharge their energies, they get depressed. Many suicidal tendencies have been linked to severe sleep deprivation.

Reckless Behaviour

Teenagers who tend to be aggressive, impulsive and short-tempered get poor quality sleep. Late bedtimes reduce the teenagers’

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ability to control their emotions and mood. You will find these teenagers driving recklessly and engaging in risky behaviour. The sleep debt causes poor judgement and inability to regulate their impulses.

Poor Memory and Performance

Sleep boosts the brains cognitive functions, including learning, emotional control, and memory. Therefore, teens that pull an all-nighter tend to perform poorly in school. Insufficient sleep limits their ability to concentrate, grasp, and solve problems. They are also unable to retain information. This is because

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sleep facilitates the production of neurons vital for storing information in the brain.

Increased Injury

With little sleep, many teenagers walk around feeling drowsy and tired. Driving under such conditions can cause accidents through sleeping at the wheel or driving recklessly. Their impaired judgement also exposes them to greater danger.
How to Deal with Inadequate Sleep in Teenagers
The best way to deal with sleep deprivation is to educate teenagers. Explaining the health effects of insufficient sleep is crucial in promoting good sleeping

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habits. Setting a family sleeping routine will encourage healthy sleeping habits. Similarly, as adults, you should set an example of reducing Internet use in the evening.

Many significant changes in development occur during the teenage years. From body image to pressure to perform well at school, teenagers are under substantial stress.

“Many adults see adolescents acting out as a sign that a particular individual is on the wrong path.” explains Danni Zhang of New Vision Psychology.

“In many cases, we see that teenagers exhibit these

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behaviours because they do not know how to express their frustrations.”

They may be stressed. They may be victims of bullying. They may not feel safe at home. There are many reasons why a developing young adult may feel anxious and stressed and thus, are unable to sleep at night. Therefore, it is important to provide teenagers with a safe non-judgement space to express how they feel. Often, this can take the shape of a guardian or counsellor.

If your child is not getting enough sleep, or struggles to breathe at night, they may be suffering from

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obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA can be managed with a continuous positive airway pressure machine, found at CPAP Direct.

As a family, you may introduce regular activities that encourage physical exercise. For example, scheduling a monthly hike together where you can all get the heart racing and clear your minds of things that are bothering you. Plus, it may improve the connection and communication you and your child share.

Encouraging teenagers to sleep for at least eight hours at night improves their quality of life. They will perform better,

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be happier, and be healthier. And as parents, this is all we want isn’t it?
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- 16 Sep 19

Sleep gives your body time to restore and rejuvenate body tissues. It also boosts brain functions by flushing out toxins. Therefore, lack of sleep can take a toll on an adult’s body. However, it poses serious health risks in teenagers. 

While teenagers should be getting enough rest, many do not have healthy sleeping habits. They stay up late chatting, watching movies, and playing video games. The late bedtimes and early wake-up schedules ruin their sleeping routines.

Here are just a few consequences of poor sleeping habits:

  1. Obesity

Five years ago, The Heart Foundation found that over a third of adult Australians were overweight or obese. Sleep deprivation increases the risk of weight gain and a higher chance of developing Type 2 diabetes. Teens who have Type 2 diabetes have problems controlling their blood sugar levels due to inadequate sleep. Staying up late also encourages late-night snacks. The combination of unhealthy snacks and late dinner increases body weight.

  1. Mental Health Issues

Lack of sleep is associated with feelings of hopelessness and sadness. While some children can get through a school week with little sleep, some cannot manage. They become miserable, irritable, and short-tempered. The fewer hours teenagers sleep, the higher the chances of depression. Physical exhaustion and overwhelming stress are not healthy for teenagers. If they fail to recharge their energies, they get depressed. Many suicidal tendencies have been linked to severe sleep deprivation.

  1. Reckless Behaviour

Teenagers who tend to be aggressive, impulsive and short-tempered get poor quality sleep. Late bedtimes reduce the teenagers’ ability to control their emotions and mood. You will find these teenagers driving recklessly and engaging in risky behaviour. The sleep debt causes poor judgement and inability to regulate their impulses.

  1. Poor Memory and Performance

Sleep boosts the brains cognitive functions, including learning, emotional control, and memory. Therefore, teens that pull an all-nighter tend to perform poorly in school. Insufficient sleep limits their ability to concentrate, grasp, and solve problems. They are also unable to retain information. This is because sleep facilitates the production of neurons vital for storing information in the brain.

  1. Increased Injury

With little sleep, many teenagers walk around feeling drowsy and tired. Driving under such conditions can cause accidents through sleeping at the wheel or driving recklessly. Their impaired judgement also exposes them to greater danger.

How to Deal with Inadequate Sleep in Teenagers

The best way to deal with sleep deprivation is to educate teenagers. Explaining the health effects of insufficient sleep is crucial in promoting good sleeping habits. Setting a family sleeping routine will encourage healthy sleeping habits. Similarly, as adults, you should set an example of reducing Internet use in the evening.

Many significant changes in development occur during the teenage years. From body image to pressure to perform well at school, teenagers are under substantial stress.

“Many adults see adolescents acting out as a sign that a particular individual is on the wrong path.” explains Danni Zhang of New Vision Psychology.

“In many cases, we see that teenagers exhibit these behaviours because they do not know how to express their frustrations.”

They may be stressed. They may be victims of bullying. They may not feel safe at home. There are many reasons why a developing young adult may feel anxious and stressed and thus, are unable to sleep at night. Therefore, it is important to provide teenagers with a safe non-judgement space to express how they feel. Often, this can take the shape of a guardian or counsellor.

If your child is not getting enough sleep, or struggles to breathe at night, they may be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA can be managed with a continuous positive airway pressure machine, found at CPAP Direct.

As a family, you may introduce regular activities that encourage physical exercise. For example, scheduling a monthly hike together where you can all get the heart racing and clear your minds of things that are bothering you. Plus, it may improve the connection and communication you and your child share.

Encouraging teenagers to sleep for at least eight hours at night improves their quality of life. They will perform better, be happier, and be healthier. And as parents, this is all we want isn’t it?

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