The Lost Hour

Teenagers these days are getting less sleep many nights because of the bizarre amount of work to do and events that are scheduled. "Over scheduling of activities, burdensome homework, lax bedtimes, television and cell phones in the bedroom- they all contribute. So does guilt; home from work after dark, parents want time with their children and reluctant to play the hardass who orders them to bed." This has put teens and kids in a strange position facing up to almost an hour less of sleep each night that they did thirty years ago. It has caused a dramatic raise in the amount of children with obesity and ADHD. I was shocked that so many children are getting so much less sleep than they used. I know that my friends and I don't really get as much sleep as we should but I didn't think that so many teenagers were getting so much less sleep. I think that the lack of sleep has impacted my friends and I for the worse because we all stay up so late talking to each other not getting the amount of sleep sufficient to stay awake first period in school. Another thing that surprised me was that the quality of kids sleep means so much more than an adults. The article says, "Kids' sleep is qualitatively different than grownups' sleep because children spend more than 40% of their asleep time in the slow-wave stage (which is ten times the proportion that older adults spend)." I was surprised that sleep for a kid and teen is much more important than an adults sleep time.

Trouble Sleeping

I think that adults and teen like myself have so much trouble going to bed at a reasonable hour and waking up early is because of technology and all the work that we have to do. I know that I work and hang out with friends after school usually starting my homework around 8 or 9pm at night every night. I am almost always up at night till around 11 or 1130 and sometimes 12 because I am texting my friends, IMing my friends, or video chatting with my friends. I also find that if I were to try to go to bed at 9pm or 10pm, I just wake up earlier like around 4 or 5. So I usually stick to going to bed at 11 or 12 because I can't sleep any earlier. I have one friend who does go to bed at 10 right around the time I'm taking a shower and she doesn't seem anymore refreshed to me. I think that it's what you get your body used to because I'm used to getting around 7.5 or 8 hours of sleep every night. My dad, I know, cannot even operate unless he has at least 6 hours of sleep which isn't a lot. He often stays up till like 1 or 2 am getting up at 8. I cannot do that because I have school and because I can't operate without at least 7.So many people, including myself, have trouble sleeping and I attribute that to technology, homework, and work.