Lack of Sleep's affects on teens

"Today's teenagers are the most sleep-deprived bunch I've seen in years," says Cornell University psychology professor James B. Maas. Only 15% of all American teenagers get the minimum amount of sleep required to function at their best even students who try to go to bed on time can struggle because of the shift in hormones during puberty which throws off the biological clock. Students need to have less sleeplesness becuase students who are over tired have lower grades, minor mental issues and, sleeping disorders.

       Students who fall asleep in class have lower grades as would be expected.  “If you don't have enough sleep your short term memory doesn't consolidate into your long term memory which is going to affect your school grades.” says Eleanor Bradford from BBC Scotland.   "You can't do your best work when you're sleep-deprived" says   Pamela Thatcher at St. Lawrence University. Pamela Thatcher also says “Pulling all-nighters compromises your sleep overall and makes it difficult to reach full academic potential.” Some short-term side effects of sleep deprivation are slower reflexives and a higher tendencies to make mistakes. Along with lowering grades lack of sleep can lead to risk-taking behavior, depression, and car accidents.

        

              The lack of sleep can cause several minor mental health issues in teens and adolescents. The minor health issues can lead to major health issues in the future. The most severe of mental health issues that sleeplessness can cause is depression. Harvard’s Mental Health Letter says that those who don’t get the minimum requirement of sleep each night are more likely to develop mental illness. Sleeping problems were categorized as symptoms of these mental health problems but with further studies it was revealed that they both cause the other one.  86% of patients over the age of 20 with bipolar disorder, ADHD, and several anxiety disorders had a minor mental health issue caused by sleeping problems. If the mental illness is caught before it evolves into a more serious one then it can be stopped by fixing a sleep schedule

               All sleeping problems start out the same a person starts to have problems falling or staying asleep but after that they all become much more definitive. Sleeplessness can cause several treatable sleeping disorders like restless leg syndrome. Over 70 different sleeping disorders exist with insomnia, and sleep apnea as two of the most common. When students don’t get enough sleep they double their likeliness to develop a sleeping disorder. One sleeping disorders often connected with high school students is restless leg syndrome (RLS) which is the irresistible urge to move ones legs often characterized as a tingling sensation. These sleeping disorders can be treated by getting on a more regular sleep schedule or in some extreme cases sleeping pills

               One solution to this problem would be to allow coffee and energy drinks in WHS. While having a lack of sleep can, depression coffee actually lowers the risk of depression. Staying awake helps boost grades but on top of that caffeine blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter called Adenosine. With Adenosine blocked neurons fire at a major rapid rate which helps take in and remember more information.  Another solution that may work would be to start school an hour or so later than it is known. "Early start times can wreak havoc," says Mary A. Carskadon. A study in 2008 conducted by Dr. Robert Vorona of Eastern Virginia Medical School, which focused on Virginia Beach High School, where classes began at 7:20 to 7:25 a.m., the crash rate for 16- to 18-year-olds was 41 percent higher than in adjacent Chesapeake High School, Va., where school started at 8:40 to 8:45. Sleeplessness is the most universal problem to plague high school students in the 21st century.

Works Cited

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"Possible Effects on GPA on StatCrunch." Possible Effects on GPA on StatCrunch. Starcrunch, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

"Sleep - How Much Sleep Do We Need? - Sleep Debt and Sleep Deprivation." Sleep - How Much Sleep Do We Need? - Sleep Debt and Sleep Deprivation. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

"New Releases." Sleep and Mental Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. <http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Mental_Health_Letter/2009/July/Sleep-and-mental-health>.

"Teens and Sleep." Sleep for Teenagers 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep/page/0%252C1/>.

"What's the Connection between Sleep and Mental Health? A Q&A with Circadian Neuroscientist Russell Foster." TED Blog Whats the Connection between Sleep and Mental Health A QA with Circadian Neuroscientist RussellFoster Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://blog.ted.com/2013/08/14/the-connection-between-sleep-and-mental-health-a-qa-with-circadian-neuroscientist-russell-foster/>.