![]() The rest live with chronic sleep deprivation-some mild to moderate, but more than half (59%) with severe sleep deprivation, meaning they sleep on average six hours or less most school nights. In fact only about 8 percent of American teenagers get the sleep they need, according to a recent study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. What teenager has time to sleep for 9 hours a night during the school year? Tell this to nine out of ten teenagers (or their parents for that matter) and they will laugh. If your teen has real problems falling asleep, you might want to ask their doctor about using a low dose of the non-prescription version of melatonin as a sleep aid.įrom the time they hit puberty until the age of 22, adolescents need about 9 hours of sleep a night to function optimally-to be physically, mentally and cognitively healthy. Teens’ brains make melatonin, the sleep hormone, at different times than the rest of us. ![]() But so can what’s going on in their bodies and brains. Late-night eating and drinking, especially anything with caffeine, can keep kids from falling asleep. Getting more sleep is something kids need to do every night, not once in a while. And you may even have to put limits on how late they can stay up doing homework. That may mean dragging your teen out of bed even on weekends. And getting kids to stick to a sleep schedule can do wonders. Putting limits on screen time is important because the light that comes from screens keeps kids from being able to get to sleep. They may not see this right away so it’s a good idea to talk to them about how important sleep is. ![]() ![]() It also makes them better at academics, sports and everything else. But there are things parents can do to help them get more sleep.įirst, teens have to realize that getting a couple hours more will improve their mood. It’s not easy for parents to control what teens do. Many teenagers are so busy with school, activities, friends and social media that they don’t get the 9 hours of sleep experts say they need. ![]()
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