Teenagers and sleep
19-10-2012
Teenagers and sleep seem to be inseparable, the whole parents trying to wake their teens up for school and failing miserably is a well worn cliché and any parent of a teen knows that it is the truth. However, while for many years it was seen as bad to let your teen sleep too long recent research has shown that it is actually really important for them to get plenty of sleep. The average teen needs more sleep than any other age human except for infants and toddlers.
One new study actually found that if teens do not get enough sleep then it is bad for their heart. A team of Canadian researchers looked at over 4,100 teens and found that they slept an average of 7.9 hours per night on weeknights and 9.4 hours per night on weekends. Nearly 20 percent of them reported poor quality sleep during the week and 10 percent reported poor sleep on the weekends. In technical terms, they suffered from high sleep disturbance scores.
In turn, the researchers have found that a higher sleep disturbance score is associated with a higher body mass index (a measurement of body fat based on height and weight), higher cholesterol level, higher blood pressure, and a larger waist size , which are all potential risk factors for heart disease.
In other words, let your teen sleep for as long as possible, it is good for their heart!
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