Sleeping in is a prerogative of teenagers

Marilou Delignieres
Marilou Delignieres
You know how parents always complain about us teenagers sleeping in?

I am going to show you that we actually need more sleep and we just don't get enough.

Why do we need to sleep?

Sleep Disorders Centre director Neil Kavey, of New York, offers some clues.

Sleep restores the body's and the brain's energy that has been used during the day, and a growth hormone is secreted during sleep, so that's when we build and rebuild tissues.

Dr Kavey also explains that when we don't get enough sleep, it affects our thinking process.

A brain that doesn't get enough sleep will be a lot slower, affecting our creativity, how we do calculations and causing more mistakes.

He also says that sleep deprivation affects us physically, causing bad co-ordination.

Sleep apnoea researcher Florence Cardinal says not having enough sleep can lead to growth problems, obesity, sleepwalking and even suicide.

And a recent study by the University Hospitals Sleep Centre shows a lack of sleep in teenagers may put them at risk of developing high blood pressure which later can lead to heart disease and strokes.

Meanwhile, new data presented by the American Academy of Sleep Societies shows starting the school day earlier led to an increase in car accidents.

The study, conducted by Dr Robert Vorona, compared the vehicle crash rates at two secondary schools.

One school started at 7.20am, the other at 8.40am. The school starting at 7.20 had 65 crashes per 1000 teen drivers, and the one starting at 8.40 had 46 crashes per 1000 teen drivers - a 41% difference.

A lot of factors can lead to teens not getting enough sleep.

The National Sleep Foundation showed a teen's circadian rhythm was temporarily reset, telling a person to fall asleep and wake up later, and that the brain hormone in teens was produced later at night than for young children and adults.

Also, teens are really busy.

After school they have lots of extracurricular activities including sport and part-time jobs.

When they get home, they have homework, which in the evening wakes up the brain, meaning they are less likely to go to sleep afterwards.

The National Sleep Foundation shows teens need more hours of sleep than adults.

Teens need nine to 10 hours of sleep, whereas adults usually need less than eight hours.

Sleep deprivation has been used as a torture technique all over the world.

For example, it was used by the Japanese during WW2 and it is suspected the Americans have used it at Guantanamo and in Iraq.

This technique is used because it makes the victims lose control of their brains so they can't think properly.

Growing up on a sailboat, and later on the Falkland Islands, I was home schooled, so I didn't have to wake up at fixed times.

I managed my own timetable, and could choose when to start school, when to finish and how much to do every day.

Now I am experiencing going to school and having to wake up at early fixed times.

I realise that I am tired, have trouble concentrating and it takes more effort to do things. I believe lack of sleep is the cause.

The answer?

School should start later. And if your parents complain about you sleeping in, you can tell them they are actually torturing you!


By Marilou Delignieres
Year 12, Mount Aspiring College

 

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