The Connection Between Bedtime & Teen Mental Health
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The rebellion against bedtime starts young and often continues until the day kids leave home. For parents who consider throwing the towel in as their children enter their teens, there is new evidence for holding tight to a strict bedtime. The average teenager needs at least nine hours of sleep each night, but just eight percent are get that much, shows a new study published in the journal Sleep. This shortage has effects far beyond the expected fatigue, the study showed. Youth who went to bed after midnight were 24 percent more likely to be depressed and 20 percent more likely to have thoughts of suicide compared to peers who went to bed by 10 p.m. If your teen says this is too early, peer pressure may be in your favor: The study also found that 54 percent of teens had a bedtime of 10 p.m. while an additional 21 percent went to bed at 11 p.m. on school nights. To help teens (and adults) get enough sleep, experts recommend avoiding late night meals, spending time before bed unwinding, and varying weekend wakeup times by no more than an hour from the weekday.
ABSTRACT: Bedtimes and the Blues: Evidence in Support of Improving Adolescent Sleep SHARE:
Posted In: Adolescent Psychology | Child Adolescent Mental Health | Childhood Depression | Sleep Disorders | Tags: Posted by FindCounseling.com Staff on January 14, 2010 at 10:59 PM | Permalink |
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