The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on a Teen

Introduction

In the recent years, studies have shown that many teens do deprive themselves of sleep. Sleep is very important to any living creature, and not only to human beings but also other animals. Sleep is, therefore, crucial to our body. This paper seeks to investigate the effects of sleep deprivation among teens. The paper will first investigate the importance of sleep to a teen. The second part will involve discussion of the various factors that contribute to sleep deprivation in a teen’s life. The final parts, which present the main objective of this paper, will discuss in details the effects of sleep deprivation in a teen’s life.

  Hours of Sleep Required for Teens

Youth ought to have no less than nine hours of rest each and every night to relax properly. Nevertheless, most scientific and medical studies disclose that 80% of young people usually do not get adequate sleep or they tend to sleep for fewer than required sleeping hours every night. Sleep deficiency in adolescence can result in waking up behind schedule, which proves to be unhealthy for the adolescent and counterproductive for their academics.

Importance of Sleep in a Teen’s Life

Sleep is very important in a teen’s life. First of all, sleep helps in improving the health condition of a teen. Through sleeping, the teen’s physical health betters, thereby the ability of the teen’s brain to store information increases as well. Secondly, sleep helps in improving the concentration of the teen both in class and outside classroom. This concentration translates to good performance as well as good psychological shape. It also helps in building a strong relationship between parents, teachers, and the teen.

Sleep aids in improving the mental health of a teen. It helps in reducing stress and anxiety, which make the teen behave in a counterproductive way. The normal behavior aids in building good relationships between the teen and their friends. Good sleep helps in reducing the number of accidents that a teen can get him/her involved in. For example, if a teen is driving after having a good night sleep, his level of concentration is always very high and this plays a critical role in reducing the chances of the teen being involved in an accident.  

Factors that Contribute to Sleep Deprivation in a Teen’s Life

With the advancement in technology and changes in the way of living, many factors can be contributing to the cases of teens depriving themselves of sleep. One of the major problems that have been identified as a contributing factor is night parties. Many teens tend to attend night parties where they spend most of the time designated for sleep. The parties in most cases go past midnight and so the teens do not have enough time to sleep.

Another factor has been noted to contribute to teens depriving themselves of sleep is movies. Most teens have a tendency of watching movies for long hours, thereby affecting their sleeping quality. Therefore, there is a need for parents and guardians to regulate the number of hours that their teens spend watching movies at night.

Technology has brought with it many good things. Nowadays there are online games in which teens can participate; these games are very interesting yet they tend to make an individual addicted to playing them. This been the case as most teenagers immerse in the world of online games to an extent of depriving themselves of sleep in order to participate in the games. The time spent by teens playing online games should be regulated to avoid negative implications that are related to sleep deprivation (Carskadon & Dement 156).

Overusage of the internet is another factor that makes teens lose their sleep. With emergence of social media, many teens spend most of their time in the evening browsing the social networks. They tend to spend their time in the internet socializing with different people from various part of the world. Unregulated internet usage also contributes to sleep deprivation in teens.

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on a Teen

(i)Performance at School

Sleep deprivation considerably affects the potential of the intellect to study and accumulate information. This may not be fine for teens going to school, since it greatly impacts their concentration and ability to take the information from their teachers. Many a time, young adults are staying awake for the whole night with an aim of studying for various tests and quizzes for the following day, which contributes to making them exhausted throughout the following day (Chee & Choo 4569). This tendency might then make it hard for them to remember new material, hence leading to poor grades in school.

Physical Health troubles

A frequent effect of sleep withdrawal on young adult is certain skin problems, for instance acne. Insufficient sleep also results in poor performance in various sporting activities. Youths who lack enough sleep frequently feel worn out and incapable of taking part in various physical activities (Dijk, Brunner & Borbely 110). Youth who do not sleep enough are also vulnerable to related health complications, such as cough, cold, fever, and others that might be contracted as a result of a feeble immune system

(iii) Mental problems

Sleep deficiency in youth could also result in relationship troubles, tension, and nervousness, which alter the usual conduct of a young person. These behavioral problems could jeopardize the relationships between the teens, their friends, and family. However, the association between a teenager and other people in the society is very important in the growth and development of the teen. 

Accidents

The impact of sleep deficiency on adolescences can lead to larger problems, for instance accidents. Usually, the body of a human requires some time to rest. Therefore, the youth without sufficient rest driving their vehicle while going to school are likely to get involved in accidents (Borbely 201). According to the statistics from National Sleep Institution, 100,000 people die in vehicle incidents annually as a result of falling napping while driving. The accidents can be prevented if people started taking this matter more seriously. 

Conclusion

The issue of teen depriving themselves of sleep should be taken seriously. There is an urgent need to come up with measures that can help the teens overcome this problem that has negative impact on their lives. Parents should take up initiatives of ensuring that their children do not engage in activities that result in sleep deprivation. On the other hand, teenagers should be educated on the importance of having adequate sleep each and every night. This can be achieved through educating them on the negative consequences of one having inadequate sleep.