Research is now clear that sleep is important in myriad ways. Lack of sleep combined with genetic vulnerabilities can lead to heart disease, depression, a weakened immune system and obesity-related diabetes, says Mary Carskadon, a professor of psychiatry at Brown University and director of Chronobiology and Sleep Research at E.P. Bradley Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.
A good night’s sleep is also crucial for learning.
“It helps you to prepare to learn, and also to benefit from what you’ve learned in the day,” Ms Carskadon says. “It’s the glue that keeps that information and sharpens it in your brain.”
But kids, particularly teens, still get too little sleep. With the hormonal changes of adolescence, body clocks shift later. The average teen can’t fall asleep until 11pm or midnight – and when they need to wake up at 6 or 7am, there’s no way they can get sleep they need, Ms Carskadon and others say.
While adults need seven to nine hours a night, elementary school kids should be in bed for roughly 10 hours, middle schoolers and high schoolers at least nine, she says.
Younger children generally don’t have as much trouble adjusting; they haven’t shifted as much during the summer, they still have enforceable bedtimes, they’re generally less addicted to social media, and elementary schools often start at 8am or 9am, later than many high schools.
No catching up
Trying to catch up on sleep on weekends can make people sleepier, says Richard Seligman, medical director for Presbyterian Sleep Disorders Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first night of extra sleep can help compensate for too-short nights during the week. But a second or third – as many will tempted to do over a long weekend – will throw off body clocks and make the next few days miserable, he says.
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