Effects of Sleep Deprivation in Teenagers: Is it Really a Problem?

Puffy eyes, dark circles, mild headache and difficulty in focussing. Sounds familiar right? Because EVERYONE (especially if you are a teenager) reading this right now MUST have experienced these at least once. These are the symptoms of SLEEP DEPRIVATION. You might think “sleep deprivation… meh! who even cares ? What’s the worst that can happen?” Well, let me share with you some facts and reasearch results:

“87 percent of American high school students are chronically sleep-deprived.”

The National Sleep Foundation (a survey of 2006).

It is suggested by sleep researchers that a teenager must have a sleep of about 10 hours everyday.
But the problem here is that most teenagers nowadays are not having a sleep of more then 6 hours! This deprivation of sleep leads to tiredness and other related issues which can have serious effects on the health and lifestyle of our youth .

Sleep deprivation can be a leading cause of depression, lack of concentration and obesity. It can leave lasting damage on the mind and body of a teenager.

Reasons for Sleep Deprivation

The basic reason of sleep deprivation lies in the genes of human beings. Simply stating, the “puberty hormones” shift the natural sleep clock forward.

It means that most teenagers are programmed to sleep late and wake up late as well, now a major issue arrives here when the schools demand them to wake up earlier. As a result the teenagers do not get enough sleep hours. Late night mobile use also plays a negative role here;

“According to the Sleep Health Foundation, teens who put down their smart-phones an hour before bed gain extra 21 minutes sleep a night, (that’s one hour and 45 minutes over the school week).”

In short, the hectic highschool life combined with less sleep hours and part-time jobs (which most kids tend to have these days) make the teens the ultimate victims of sleep deprivation.

Effects of Sleep Deprivation in Teenagers

“Sleep deprivation is extremely detrimental at all of life. In the teen years, when development continues ... the sleep deprivation effects of brain and body development are significant.”

— -Dr. Michael Breus.

Sleep deprivation is significantly damaging to the body and the brain alike. Some of the most common consequences of sleep deprivation have been listed below.

Depression :

Depression is one of the most common mental illness found in teenagers nowadays.

“Sleep deprivation and depression go hand in hand among teenagers, Instead of giving them medications, I’d rather give them a chance to sleep better, and more.”

— -Mahmood Siddique. (A sleep medicine specialist at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.)

Out of all the psychiatric disorders that are associated with insomnia, depression is the most common. It has been observed that 90% of patients with depression complain about sleep quality. ( The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 2005.)

It is evident that there is a direct relationship between depression and sleep deprivation. In other words: Sleep deprivation leads to depression.

While sleep deprivation is itself a major issue, depression is practically the death of a teenager’s mental health and abilities.

Concentration and Focus Problems:

Sleep deprivation leads to slower mental activity which causes concentration problems. Teenagers with sleep problems not only tend to have focus problems but also have poor decision making skills. Scientists measuring sleepiness have found that sleep deprivation causes lower alertness and concentration. When it’s more difficult to focus and pay attention, so you’re more easily confused. This hampers your ability to perform anything that requires logical reasoning or complex thought. Sleep deprivation also impairs judgment.

Academic failures:

It’s pretty obvious that slow brain functioning, concentration problems and a depressed mental state will lead to the ultimate results of academic failure. Teenagers become too much frustrated even for day to day activities that achieving an academic honor becomes nearly impossible.

Most of the high school dropouts have been found to have depression, which as explained earlier, is directly connected to sleep deprivation.

Not only there personal lives are effected but this apparently small habit becomes a big hurdle in the way of a bright future.

Obesity and Health Issues :

“A growing body of research suggests that there’s a link between how much people sleep and how much they weigh. In general, children and adults who get too little sleep tend to weigh more than those who get enough sleep.”

— -(Patel SR, Hu FB. Short sleep duration and weight gain: a systematic review. Obesity(Silver Spring). 2008; 16:643-53.)

Obesity can easily become a root cause of a lot of problems. People with severe obesity are tend to have other health issues as well. These health issues usually include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and many more. Combined with obesity, these diseases cause a very poor health. So along with mental issues sleep deprivation causes a lot of physical harm to teenagers as well.

Conclusion :

In this fast moving modern world, we usually forget to rest and sleep. But the consequence of this little carelessness can cause a huge damage to the personal life, health and happiness of a teenager. A good sleep of around 10 hours is as important for teenagers as food and oxygen are, sleep time is not something that should be compromised. Always remember that old saying:

“ health is wealth!”