Teen Sleep
Take the Teen Sleep Quiz below:
BASICS
Sleep is food for the brain. During sleep, important body functions and brain activity occur. Skipping sleep can be harmful—even deadly, particularly if you are behind the wheel. You can look bad, you may feel moody, and you may perform poorly. Sleepiness can make it hard to get along with your family and friends and hurt your scores on school exams, on the court and on the field. Remember: A brain that is hungry for sleep will get it, even when you don’t expect it. For example, drowsiness and falling asleep at the wheel cause more than 100,000 car crashes every year. When you don’t get enough sleep, you are more likely to have an accident, injury and/or illness.
FACTS & FIGURES
- Sleep is vital to your well-being, as important as the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat. It can even help you to eat better and manage the stress of being a teen.
- Teens need about 9.5 hours of sleep each night to function best. Most teens do not get enough sleep—study found that only 15% reported sleeping 8.5 hours on school nights.
- Many teens suffer from treatable sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy, insomnia, restless legs syndrome or SLEEP APNEA.
CONSEQUENCES
Not getting enough sleep or having sleep difficulties can:
- Limit your ability to learn, listen, concentrate and solve problems. You may forget information like plays, assignments, numbers, etc.
- Lead to aggressive behavior or inappropriate behavior towards your friends or being impatient with you teachers or family members.
- Increase the use of caffeine and/or nicotine.
- Contribute to illness, not using equipment safely or drowsy driving.
EDUCATIONAL LINKS: