Many teens are facing sleep deprivation

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Many teens are not getting enough sleep. If you have a teen during summer break who stays up till midnight and wakes up 10:00-11:00 a.m., that’s not completely unusual.

“We know physiologically they are starting to change,” Dr. Kevin Trice a sleep specialist at Norton Healthcare said. “When teenagers hit that 12-13 year mark they actually start to want to sleep later. It’s called a phase delay. They are not even sleeping till about 11 p.m. and they tend to sleep a little longer which interferes with the school start time.”

However, if your teen is up all night playing video games or on their phones, Dr. Trice says that’s another thing. Those are activities that get in the way sometimes. Dr. Trice says teens face a lot challenges that keep them from getting appropriate sleep, the use of electronics, part time jobs, extracurricular activities, all of this takes a toll on how much time is in the day. Making time for that sleep is so important.

“It helps with irritability, emotional stability, navigate complex feelings they are having as their bodies are changing,” Trice said. “It helps with sport performance and injury recovery ability to retain information.”

Put electronics away at least an hour before bed. Young children can use anywhere from 9-11 hours of sleep. As they get older, 8-10 hours but, keep in mind each child is different. Children and teens should get no less than 7 hours of sleep.

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