BETTER SLEEP FOR TEENAGERS
Everybody knows how important it is to get a good night's sleep. Even one night without enough sleep leaves us in a bad mood and unable to work well. Nevertheless, on most nights many of us get less sleep than we need. This is especially true for teenagers. Recent surveys1 of American teenagers show that about 80% of them sleep only around seven hours a night. That is two hours less than the nine hours recommended by doctors.(lines 1–5)
Lack of sleep can seriously affect teenagers throughout their day in school. For example, they might have trouble concentrating in class. Surprisingly, going to bed early does not help. "We all have an 'internal clock' that controls many things inside our bodies. For example, this clock determines at what time we feel hungry or sleepy," explains sleep specialist Dr. Joy Peterson. "And in most studies on teenagers, we found that they were not ready to fall asleep before 11 p.m."(lines 6–10)
Because teenagers become so tired during the week, they often sleep many extra hours on the weekend. However, this disrupts2 their internal clock for many days. As a result, they probably won't sleep well for most of the week. But according to a recent study, there might be a solution that does not affect the internal clock. "A nap3 during the afternoon – just one hour of sleep – was found to improve mood, memory, and concentration," says Peterson.(lines 11–15)
However, in addition to these encouraging results there was one that worried the scientists. In another study, they found that after an afternoon nap, teenagers had higher levels of sugar in their blood than normal. "More research must be done to find out if this has any negative long-term4 effect on their health," says Peterson. "Until then, I cannot recommend naps as a way of compensating5 for a lack of a good night's sleep."(lines 16–20)
Meanwhile, what can teenagers who suffer from sleep deprivation6 do? "They should really make sure they are asleep at 11 p.m. or soon after," says Peterson. "But that isn't easy to do if they are very active before they go to bed. So it's important to do something relaxing for at least 30 minutes before they turn the lights off at 11 o'clock. That will help them get the best night's sleep they can."(lines 21–25)