Sleep is an essential building block for life. When we sleep, we rebuild many functions that we lose throughout the day. Sleep is imperative to function successfully throughout the day. For teens, sleep is even more important.
Teen’s brains are still developing. Teens experience significant physical, emotion, and intellectual changes and sleep fuels these processes. Plentiful sleep is essential to development and quality of life. Teen sleep is the most important because it gives them the opportunity to rebuild their memory, their health, and even their appearance. Technology has swiftly replaced sleep as teens are bombarded with late night texts or video games. Teens also experience an overload of homework and social activities that cut into the amount sleep they get.
Teens need between 8-10 hours of sleep a night to properly meet their growing needs. Teen sleep rebuilds the body and the mind to assist teens in functioning day to day. When teen sleep is interrupted, they may experience a laundry list of issues. These issues can include trouble with memory, difficulty learning, aggressiveness, and poor academic performance. There are several studies that suggest that teens who burn the midnight oil will actually suffer more academically than teens who get the proper amount of sleep.
Parents may question if too much sleep is bad for their teen. According to this article, there has been a study that suggests those sleeping nine hours a day may die earlier than others who slept eight hours. However, too much sleep may be a sign of something more pressing. Teens who sleep for a longer amount of time may need the extra time to recover. It may also be a sign that your teen is suffering from an illness, chronic pain, or an underlying issue. The best option is to talk to your teen’s doctor about their sleep habits. Also talk to your teen and discuss the importance of sleep and have them be honest with you about any issues they may be experiencing.
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