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.