Why Teens Need More Sleep

Who else is at that point in the year where waking up is seriously the hardest part of their day? Almost all teens have hit the point in the year where if we don’t have at least one nap a day we won’t be able to function. Why is that? Well, has anyone thought maybe we have to wake up a bit too early? According to many studies, a healthy wake up time for our brain should not be before 7 am. Most high school teens wake up at five, and a few even wake up at 4:30! Adults may say, “Well one day you’re going to have to wake up that early for work!” Now yes, that is true, however our brains are not fully developed as theirs are, therefore they don’t need as much hours of sleep as a teen does to fully be refreshed for the next day. It has also been reported that schools that start at a later time actually see an increase in test results, grades, and even a decrease in depression and anxiety rates. You might respond with “Why don’t you go to sleep earlier?” Actually, it is in teenager's biological clock and our nature to want to go to bed at a later time, and wake up at a later time. That may make us seem lazy, but it’s actually true. Another question you can ask yourself is “are you in sleep dept?” Ask yourself how many hours of sleep you get? Ask yourself do you take long periods of naps and do you get tired easily in a car or a bus ride? These are important for our bodies; sleep is something that most people don’t realize humans need a lot of. So waking up at 5 am five days out of the week, going to school for eight hours plus the extra activities most teens do, it’s no wonder we’re falling asleep in class.