Sleep is something that is so crucial to development, yet is one of the most put off necessities in the average human’s lifetime. The average adult needs around seven or more hours of sleep each night, but how does this compare to teenagers and young children? Teens need at least nine to ten hours of sleep, as during the ages of thirteen to eighteen a ton of physical and mental development is occurring. Children however, have different ranges of required sleep. Toddlers need anywhere from eleven to fourteen hours, preschool children need ten to thirteen hours, and school age children need nine to twelve hours of sleep.

Throughout a person’s lifetime, they lose a lot of sleep for a multitude of reasons. Some of these reasons could include academic responsibilities, social obligations, insomnia, stress, early school/work starting times, and even addictions. While all of these factors can play a big role in someone’s life, they could be drastically impacting their quality of life. Sleep deprivation can have effects on mood, in which someone could become more irritable or upset, cognitive ability, where someone’s perception of things is thrown off which can impact their memory, decisions, and reaction time, and their performance at work or school. 

Sleeplessness is something that has become an increasing problem with the most significant changes occurring between the years 1991–1995 and 1996–2000. A lot of teenagers think that sleep can be put off and doesn’t have a huge significance, yet sleep deprivation over time can lead to what researchers call “sleep debt.” Sleep debt is the distinction between the amount of sleep a person requires and the amount of sleep that person is actually receiving. Sleep debt is something that accumulates over time and can lead to negative impacts on someone’s health. Long term effects can include increased risk in chronic illness, decreased immunity, impaired cognitive function, stress, depression, eating disorders, mood disorders, and increased risk of injury. To prevent this state of sleeplessness, actions such as maintaining a regular sleep schedule, avoiding caffeine, smoking, drugs, and alcohol, taking naps, and turning off televisions, radios, phones, and computers can be taken. 

Remembering that sleep is not optional but is a crucial part of everyday life is something that we should all strive towards. There are many negative effects of sleep deprivation and while it might seem like you can “bounce back” quickly, you could be putting yourself into nights of sleep debt. So the next time you’re scrolling through social media or pulling all-nighters with your friends, be sure to think about what it could be doing to impact your health.

Sources

Keyes, Katherine M, et al. “The Great Sleep Recession: Changes in Sleep Duration among US Adolescents, 1991-2012.” Pediatrics, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4338325/.

“Sleep in Adolescents.” Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, www.nationwidechildrens.org/specialties/sleep-disorder-center/sleep-in-adolescents#:~:text=The%20average%20amount%20of%20sleep,9%20%C2%BC%20hours%20of%20sleep). Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.

Watson, Nathaniel F, et al. “Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society.” Sleep, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 June 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4434546/.