By Marsha Goldstein, LCSW
Introduction
When you get too little sleep on a regular basis, a condition known as sleep deprivation can occur, causing you to shortchange yourself on a very important aspect of life.
Everyone knows that food and water are essential to life. Getting enough sleep is just as important. Yes, life is hectic and juggling time and schedules can be extremely difficult. The responsibilities of going to school, working, recreating and enjoying a satisfying social life all cut into the time you have to sleep. Interestingly enough, without the proper amount of sleep, each category mentioned will suffer.
Most Teens Need Nine Hours of Sleep
According to Mary Carskadon, a sleep physiologist at Brown University’s Bradley Hospital sleep lab, most teens need nine hours and 15 minutes of sleep a night.
This may be because the hormones essential to growth and sexual maturation are released mostly during sleep. In addition, Carskadon has found that teens who get the least sleep earn grades of Cs and Ds, while those getting more sleep tend to get As and Bs.
Carskadon and her colleagues have discovered that without enough sleep, judgment and memory are impaired, and performance is poor on reaction time. This translates into not remembering the information you need to retain for exams and organizing your thoughts to finish in the time given. In the workforce, this might translate into not remembering assigned tasks or the ability to get work done in a specific time frame.
Feeling moody? Feeling a little fuzzy? This may be caused by not getting enough sleep. Mood is one of the first things affected by inadequate sleep. Unfortunately, what goes along with this is a lowered threshold for containing anger. This may contribute to tension with family members, friends, co-workers or that special someone.
Impaired Driving Skills
Sleep deprivation can impair your driving skills. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 100,000 automobile accidents a year are caused by driver fatigue. It can have the same effect as alcohol. Falling asleep at the wheel can have devastating consequences to you and others.
Peer pressure is not an alien concept to teens. The ability to “just say no” in many dangerous and social situations may be impaired due to sleep deprivation. When one feels fuzzy and concentration is hard to come by, the effects of one’s actions are not thought through carefully. Bad choices may have lasting effects.
We live in a 24-hour world. A whole range of nighttime activities are available. Television and phones never close down. The Internet allows us to shop, work, gamble and socialize at all hours. Most of us sleep less then people did a century ago, or even 50 years ago. The National Sleep Foundation’s 2005 poll showed adult Americans average 6.8 hours of sleep on weeknights – more than an hour less than they need.
In the United States, six to eight million people work at night. Many people get only five hours of sleep during the week and try to catch up by logging nine hours nightly on weekends. David P. White, professor of sleep medicine and director of the sleep disorders program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said, “You can make up for acute sleep deprivation, but we don’t know what happens when people are chronically sleep-deprived over years.”
Emotional Stress and Sleep Patterns
Emotional stress or excitement can interfere with sleep patterns. Medical conditions and even some medications can also interfere with sleep. Talking with a physician about loss of sleep for medical reasons may be necessary. Talking with a mental health professional may be advisable when emotional stress continues to rob you of sleep.
Marsha Goldstein, licensed clinical social worker, board-certified diplomate, writes from Pahrump. She can be reached at (775) 751-9579.
Reprinted with permission of the Pahrump Valley Times.
