It could be ruining his/her chances of happiness and academic success
What the research says:
“There is no doubt that teenagers are the most sleep-deprived segment of the population. This is a very under-recognised problem and the cost to society in the healthy development of young people is profound.” Dr Michael Carr-Gregg
Insufficient sleep means teens not only perform worse in the short-term, but there are long-term implications. “REM, or stage five sleep, is the time when the brain consolidates the information that’s been taken in during the day, and if kids don’t get enough of that REM sleep, they are simply not going to be able to process the information and consolidate it,” Dr Carr-Gregg says. “So it actually impairs their learning as well. My view is that sleep is the single most important study tool going around.”
Teenagers are also under huge pressure today from homework, part-time work, sport, social activities and family obligations, Dr Blunden, a paediatric sleep specialist at the Adelaide Centre for Sleep Research, University of South Australia, adds “We’re expecting rational and adult decision-making, yet their prefrontal cortex is not fully developed and ready to do that. If they’re not sleeping well they’re not giving themselves the best option to handle all this pressure we’re putting them under.”
The problem is compounded by the fact many kids skip breakfast as they rush out the door to school. “If you combine the lack of energy and the sleep deprivation there are a substantial proportion of kids – I’d say about 20 percent – who are simply incapable of taking in any information in schools,” Dr Carr-Gregg says. “They are literally teaching zombies.”
What’s keeping kids up?
Gadgets are mentally stimulating, and preliminary studies show that lights from mobile phones, TVs and computers may inhibit the production of melatonin. Exposure to this type of light at night could be confusing our body systems.
It’s time for parents to find their digital spine, says Dr Carr-Gregg.
“Parents need to stand up to their kids and say, you can’t have a computer or TV in your bedroom. So many parents don’t have mobile phone charging tables where all phones have to be by a certain time or you don’t get to use them the next day. Start setting boundaries.” The key is to start valuing sleep more, says Dr Carr-Gregg. “Sleep is incredibly important for the psychological and physical wellbeing of young people. We’ve arrived at a stage where many kids have been led to believe that sleep is just something that interferes with your social life, and that’s very unfortunate.”
Maybe it’s not all their/your fault
Scientists now agree that children’s body clocks change when they enter puberty. As they mature, the sleep-related hormone melatonin is secreted later at night than normal, and switches off later the following morning. This totally changes the circadian rhythms that guide their sleep-wake cycle. So, while teens may be forced into bed at 10pm, many are left twiddling their thumbs (often literally on their mobiles) until 1 or 2am, then they struggle to wake up in time for school. Most adolescents become night owls during puberty and a little bit afterwards, and then go back to “normal” in early adulthood.
Mr Terry Muldoon Principal, St Columba Anglican School |
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