Our Teens are Suffering from Sleep Deprivation

» IMADAG2 - wake up sleepy head!

Thanks for the article. I had the (mis)fortune of sleeping in a teen's bedroom while they shared another room...during my recent interstate holiday.

"• Teen’s bedrooms should be used for sleep and relaxation, not for other activities"

It was very cluttered or untidy or "busy" although other names could equally apply. A TV included as de riguer..used mainly for games I think. I reckon bedrooms are OK to use for homework..but in either event, maybe the parents should instal a master control switch for the lights & power. This may encourage compliance until self discipline kicks in..which I understand is when they're in their early 30s.

If any teens read this post, I'm happy to explain what "homework" is and how to ask the teacher for some..more.

"Primary school children - need about nine to 10 hours. Studies show that increasing your child's sleep by as little as half an hour can dramatically improve school performance."
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2...

Not every behaviour has to have an illness behind it. I wasn't aware of the link between sleep apnoea in children and keeping their tonsils but there seem countless ways to monitor child heatlh nowadays..and every reminder like your article can only help.

Jeff

-- posted by IMADAG2

» Red - Re: wake up sleepy head!

Jeff,

So glad to see you here. Yes, children need a lot of sleep and so do teens. Parents think that when kids' marks plummet that they aren't studying. It could be there are deprived of sleep and nothing else. They may be studying, but it is not being taken in because they are completely fatigued.

Have you ever watched a baby who is falling asleep and doesn't want to miss anything? His head nods, his eyes close, he jerks awake and the entire process continues until he can no longer fight the sandman.

Yes, today we have numerous ways of monitoring children's health and that is good. Did you know that mono enlarges the spleen? Mono can be caught off water fountains at schools or other public buildings.

Children and teens need regular checkups by a physician as well. This helps to catch any serious health problems early.

Thanks for stopping by and opening this discussion. I'm always happy to see you here.

-- posted by Red

» IMADAG2 - Re: Re: wake up sleepy head!

Hi Mary

Yep..a holistic approach is needed and sleep deprivation may be overlooked or "tolerated" by the busy parent who allows the child to stay up late without any quiet time before bedtime. Same as undiagnosed hearing and eyesight problems when bad behaviour is the presenting problem.

I like the word splenomegaly (enlarged spleen) and almost got it in a game of scrabble once running across 3 vertical words. But one could go berserk worrying about all the things catchable at school. Be well informed before taking shortcuts on your kids health, I guess.

Cheers

Jeff

-- posted by IMADAG2