Sleep Deprivation

I decided to write about sleep, I know almost everyone I know seems to feel perpetually tired. Multiple studies have been done showing the affects that lack of sleep can cause, especially on teenagers. In an article in a Psychology journal, it was said that lack of sleep in teenagers can result in poorer grades, more car accidents, inability to focus, ADHD, and depression. They even went to far as to say that when tested, areas where teenagers get the most amount of sleep there is a substantially less amount of teen related car accidents and crime. For a long time people believed that as people got older there need for sleep gradually decreased, however, it is now known that in fact, teenagers need more sleep than younger children and adults. In fact, teenagers need about 9.2 hours of sleep wile adults need only 7.5-8 hours a night. Wile this is all very interesting to me, I had to think "yea right," as if I have the time to sleep that much during the week! For that reason people have been trying to push back school start time, because it is believed that something in the brain causes teenagers to want to go to bed, and get up later. And so by starting school later, they will be able to focus more, and get more sleep. I think this is a good idea, but at the same time, if school starts later, than it gets out later, leading to less time for homework. It seems that the problem is not when school starts as much as with sports and the piles of homework we get every day, there is very little time for sleep.

http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/sleepteen.html