How much sleep do minor indeed require?

Parents normally concern about whether their juvenile is getting enough sleep. Research studies suggest that minors are suffering an “epidemic of sleep deprivation” globally — one that will have long-term health impacts.

So how much sleep do teenagers really need and how can parents help them fulfill it?

Foremost we need to accept is that juveniles are still growing and their brains are still burgeoning— so they require more sleep than adults.

They also have distinctive sleep-wake pattern and discharge melatonin (a natural hormone to prepare for sleep) later, which means evening sleepiness takes longer to occur and they have a habit to go to bed late and to sleep till late morning. Apparently, they still have to wake up early for school.

Compeers also influence minors more than they influence younger children. Increased social interests— like online chat, social networking, and web browsing — combine with higher academic stress as children enter high school. At this age parents also turns to exercise less control over teenagers’ bedtimes.

Eight to 10 hours, routinely

So what is optimum sleep time to support teenagers health? According to experts after reviewing 864 papers analyzing relationships between children’s sleep duration and health, they proposed that those between 13 and 18 years of age should get sleep of at least eight to 10 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimum health.

Sadly, worldwide learnings show that in 53 percent of cases juvenile is having less than eight hours of sleep per night on school days.

A recent report pointed out that only five percent of teenagers in the United States meet recommendations for sleep, physical activity and screen time. Senior teenagers were less likely than younger teenagers(14 years or less) to achieve the recommendations.

Sex hormones and the stress reaction

A lot of activity takes place in juvenile brains due to their developmental stage. During teenage, there are considerable changes to thinking, emotions, behavior and social relationships.

Adjustments to brain connections add to the development of thinking abilities and changes in brain signaling. Fluctuation in the balance between brain systems creates a period where teenagers may take added risks or engage in more reward seeking.

Adolescents react a lot to stress and their stress-response systems are developing. Sex hormones influence the neurotransmitters in their brains and boost their reactivity to stress. When we add insufficient sleep time to the picture there can be many implications.

A recent study review identified increased risk for suicide, being overweight, high rates of injury, poor continuous attention and low school grades for teens sleeping less than eight hours.

On the other hand, Sleeping nine or more hours means better life satisfaction, less health illness and better quality family relationships for juveniles.

Drugs, alcohol and high cholesterol

Teen chauffeur sleeping six or fewer hours per night on weekdays and on weekends reported unsafe driving, sensation seeking, and greater drug and alcohol consumption than those sleeping more than six hours.

Less than six hours per night of sleep time raised the juveniles’ risk for multiple vehicle crashes, after taking into account exposure to driving.

There is also proof that teenagers who sleep for more hours and have better quality sleep have a less risk for high blood pressure and cholesterol, insulin resistance and larger waist girth than teenagers with shorter sleep times and lower sleep quality. This is after taking into account other risk elements such as body fat, physical activity, television viewing, and diet quality.

Finally, a recent study report has highlighted links between teens’ sleep time, screen time and poorer mental health.

Park the electronic devices

Parents should work with teenagers to set bedtimes. They should inspire the use of beds only for sleep and for unwinding before sleeping.

Use of electrical devices before bed and during the night add the risk for shorter sleep time. Study shows that physical activity and avoiding screens before bed is a blueprint to promote earlier bedtimes and protect your juveniles’ sleep.

Parents can support screen break before bedtime and through the night by keeping phones at a charging pad away from bedrooms.

Parents can also help their teenagers attain the recommended eight hours or more of sleep by engaging in relaxing family activities with them in the evening.