For years
parents and educators have known that teens do not get enough sleep to meet
their health needs. Now we know there is a new culprit: their cell phones.
Parents may be
unaware that many teens sleep with their cell phones by their side, answering
calls or text messaging throughout the night.
As a result,
teens come in to school very tired, and even start experiencing the kind of
ailments that arise from too little sleep.
Research has
documented that on average, teenagers have traditionally gotten about two hours
less sleep every night than they need. The situation puts teens at risk of
increased accidents and general moodiness.
In the past,
these numbers arose from the fact that teens were generally staying up too late
and waking too early for the needs of their bodies. Those figures were
calculated BEFORE the prevalence of cell phones.
According to
research, on average teen bodies need nine hours and fifteen minutes of sleep
per night. Prior to the advent of cell phones as bedmates, teens were only
getting an average of seven hours of sleep per night. Now the numbers are far
lower.
And fitful
sleep, in short bursts, is not as healthful as uninterrupted sleep, so the
health implications are far graver than they have ever been.
Of the estimated 100,000 car crashes a year linked to
drowsy driving, almost half involve drivers age 16-24, according to the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. What’s more, like humans of any
age, teens get more emotional when they are sleep-deprived.
The best thing
a parent can do to help teens get the vital sleep they need is to make sure
there is no cell phone by their side when they go to bed. Period. Turn it off
and take it away. It’s good parenting.
