Question:
The average high school teenager needs 9 to 9 1/2 hours of sleep.

Did you know that:

* 30% of high school students report to have fallen asleep at least once a week in class.

*studies show that teenagers generally get an average of only 6 to 7.4 hours a night

*Children who don't get enough sleep are more impulsive, their attention span is less, so they're just more accident prone

* Testing the limits of his capacity to function without sleep, one 17-year-old high school student, Randy Gardner, went without sleep for 264 hours(about 11 days), the longest observed period of total sleep deprivation. He did it as a part of a science project. Randy, who was carefully monitored by sleep researchers, did suffer some hallucinations, as well as speech and movement problems.(Psycology,John W. Santrock)

*In a recent national survey of more than 1,000 American adults conduted by the National Sleep Foundation(2001), 63% said that they get less than 8 hours of sleep a night, and 31% said that they get less than 7 hours of sleep a night. (Psycology, John W. Santrock)

The sleep foundation poll found the following:

*Overall, 51% of adolescents (ages 10 to 18) go to bed at 10 p.m. or later on school nights. On weekend nights, 91% of adolescents go to bed at 10 p.m. or later.

*84% of adolescents get up at 7 a.m. or earlier on school days; 60% get up at 9 a.m. or later on the weekends; 11% get up after noon.

*36% of parents and guardians say their adolescents are difficult to get in bed, and 38% say they are difficult to get up.

*Sleep deprivation is a serious matter for teens. Of the estimated 100,000 car crashes a year linked to drowsy driving, almost half involve drivers ages 15 to 24, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The numbers could be even higher than reported because "sleepiness doesn’t show up on the autopsy."

What may be some of the causes?

"research has shown teens are getting less sleep than ever before, mainly because there are distractions -- computers, TV sets, even VCRs -- right inside the bedroom.

The bedroom used to be a place that was reserved for the adolescent to sleep. Now, there are so many distractions, and this allows teenagers, like everyone else in today's society, to be alert 24/7," National Center of Sleep Research Dr. Carl Hunt said.

Why is sleep so important for teenagers?

One study looked at the relationship between sleep and grades. The study found that teenagers who got more sleep had more A's and B's, while teens who got less sleep got more C's and D's.

There are many other ways in which the right amount of sleep can keep you healthy. During sleep the body:

*Repairs cells: Sleep slows metabolism, heartbeat and breathing rate, which helps the body replenish after daily physical activity.

*Releases growth hormones in young adults: While you sleep, a hormone is released that aids the growth of bones, tissues and new red blood cells.

*Strengthens your immune and nervous systems.

How do I know if I haven't been getting enough sleep?

If you don't get enough sleep, you may experience symptoms of sleep deprivation. These include:

*Falling asleep in class.

*Irritability.

*Having a hard time waking up in the morning.

*Difficulty concentrating.

*Depression after prolonged sleep deprivation.



So how many hours of sleep do You regularly get?

Choices:
4 to 5 hours
6 to 7 hours
8 to 9 hours
9 or more
...I don't know...

 

i read this thing, somewhere. i dont remember where. but this guy was on an airplane, and he had his laptop on the little desk/table/thing and he was typing and he fell asleep. his face landed on the keyboard. the flight attendent woke him up because they were going to land, and she said "sir, wake up, you fell asleep, and it seems that your computer did too" it turns out that when his head hit the keyboard, it landed on the "z" key. he had like 20 pages of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's. maybe my friend told me that. i dont know.

I can't sleep. lol. I just can't. I fall alseep at one in the morning and wake up at three. This will sound babyish, but, I have some pretty bad dreams that keep me up.
-Sunset

I do go to sleep at a pretty good time it;s just that I can NEVER get to sleep! O.K.-let's say that I go to bed @ 10:00- I won't get to bedd 'till after midnight.

I had a dream we had our church service in my ROTC classroom. hmmmmm, I've been to busy during the day to even dream properly!
maybe tonight will be better...ahhh thanksgiving break....bliss...zzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz
I find that too fun. YouthVoice you've started something.lol

[This message was edited by YNLissa on November 25, 2003 at 06:26 AM.]

I'm so sleepy right now that I think I'm going to fall sideways...hopefully not smash myself into the keyboard...zzzZZZZzzzZZZzzzzZZZzzz...

I find that with taekwondo after school til 7 then eating by the time i start homework its 8 and i dont get done till around 12 and have to get up at 5

we're all cranky because we're not getting enough damn sleep . Bosses keeping you up till midnight becuase " We really need you here April" and school reasearch papers its a wonder we get any sleep at all.And don't forget that group project you have to finsh because the group had to get Homecoming dresses. Okay I'm done venting now you'll have to forgive me.

I go to bed at lets say an average of 10pm a night and get up at 5:40am and thats almost eight hours and i can survive on that so whats the big deal?

this weekend because I had a drill meet requiring me to be up at 4:45 on Saturday and not in bed until about 10:15 and then I have lotsa homework still (teachers wait until they know you have no saturday to give you a mountain of homework) so I'll be up late again unless I decide to cram tomorrow night. *Sigh* Sorry I'm cranky.

There are just soo many distractions, like good TV shows to watch and all the extracurricular activites and stuff. I have the hardest time getting up in the morning, and atleast 3-4 times a week my eyes get all tired and I almost go to sleep in class! I get into bed at 9, and can't go to sleep until 11! Its horrible!

*Kerry

I rarley ever get the amount of sleep that I should have. Between Newspaper Staff, Student Govornment, Video Yearbook Club, and Community Service Club, School and a Job my life is constantly on "GO," basically moving non-stop. So I usually get between 4-5 hours of sleep every day.

quote:

---

Whoa! That's to late for my taste,

---

too late? i leave at 4 everyday, and skool starts at 8, grrrrrrrrrr, it sux.

i usually get about 6 hours of sleep, i'm tired all the time, but i'll live.

much luv

~*FOXY*~

the reason i usually don't go to sleep very early is because i'm a night-person and basically my mind comes alive at night, therefore i do not get sleepy til midnight or so. i try to get sleepy by being online, reading, or listening to music sometimes, and it helps a little. my school's late bell rings at 8am and we don't get too much homework usually, so the reason i don't sleep enough is because i don't get sleepy! kind of frustrating, but i'm pretty used to running on little food AND sleep, somehow. i noe it's not healthy, but i can't get to sleep!

!.suzy.!

I have to get up at six a.m. on average five to six times a week.Usually for shcool.
And sometimes I dont go to bed till about Eleven p.m.And some nights I dont even go to sleep till much later than that.So your talking between Seven and Five hours of sleep a night.Its gotten so bad that Ive fallen asleep twice in two different classes this past week.Its also effecting my grades on tests.I get so much homework from school too that Im staying up doing it,then I strees out cause I want to fall asleep but I still didnt even finish my work.This is a problem for all of my friends and not just me.I dont know how much more of it I can take

my school starts at 7:30 am every morning. but the classes start at exactly that time. so ya gotta there at least 10-15 minutes before hand.

I never sleep before 3 a.m., and I'm fine. You get used to it after a while. I went for four months on 3-5 hours of sleep a night. I got really depressed and fell asleep all the time during class, but I turned out fine and still got good grades.

I get about 9 hours of sleep. But I am homeschooled. I get up at 9:00 and start school work at 10:00. It only takes about 3 hours to finish my school work. I also have no homework. But when I did go to high school (last year) I woke up at 6:00 and got on the bus at 7:00 and school started at 8:15. I hardly ever got any sleep. I usually slept in study hall and my grades were like C's. I seem to think that Homeschooling is alot more benefical. I know get A's and B's.

By the way I go through an Acadmey but do my school work at home. I do all the classes you take in high school. So you can't say that I don't do work or anything.

Ya, I get about 6 1/2 hours of sleep a night on weekdays, and more like 10 on weekends thank god. I sleep in english though. That class is sooo boring.

Science is when I sleep. My science teacher is just a complete joke. Last week two kids were sleeping for the whole class, not taking notes, heads down n their arms, completely obviously sleeping, and this dumb**** doesn't even notice.

[This message was edited by YNLissa on October 18, 2003 at 06:37 AM.]