I'm Tiredd

            Lately, I have been very tired so I decided that maybe I should be getting more sleep.  At the same time, many nights I just cannot sleep when I try to force myself to bed knowing how tired I am.  I decided to do some research into why this might be and whether I might just be crazy and well I’m at it, I might as well just turn it into a blog post since I still need one for this week.

 

How much sleep are teenagers supposed to get every night?

            According to the National Sleep Foundation, teenagers need about 9 ¼ hours of sleep per night to be able to function at their best, although for some 8 ½ hours of sleep is enough.  A study by the same group found that only 15% of teenagers sleep at least 8 ½ hours on a school night.

            I know I am only getting around 6 hours of sleep most school nights, so this will explain part of my problem.  Honestly, I don’t know how I am supposed to be able to fit in 9 ¼ hours of sleep every night, but that is what I am supposed to be getting.

 

Why does it seem like I’m not the only teenager not able to fall asleep at night?

            There are actually quite a few sleep disorders I found during my research.  According to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, many teenagers have delayed sleep phase syndrome which is what causes teenagers to want to be a “night owl” when everyone else in their family is going to bed.  This syndrome is believed to be due to changes of the internal clock associated with puberty, and results in lack of sleep among teenagers as school starts earlier.  There are also, more commonly heard of disorders, such as sleep apnea and chronic insomnia.

            The delayed sleep phase syndrome seems to make a lot of sense to me, I used to go to bed really early and now I struggle to fall asleep before 11.  From the amount of activity I see on Twitter late at night, I would also assume that many other teenagers I know suffer from the same syndrome.

 

What are some of the consequences of this lack of sleep many teenagers seem to be struggling from?

1.      Limit your ability to learn and remember things. Yikes! What if I forget where I’m going?  This might explain why I have been forgetting things lately.

2.      Give you more acne.  I am a teenage girl, and this is not okay.

3.      Lead to aggressive behavior.  Does anyone else seem to be noticing my mean streak lately? Just kidding… I haven’t noticed this one lately.

4.      Cause you to eat too much, and gain weight.  Once again, I am a teenage girl, not okay.

5.      Heighten the effects of alcohol and tobacco.  Well I have never done any of this, so I can’t really say too much about this.

6.      Contribute to increased illness.  I’m always sick, so I don’t know about this one either.

 

I have come to the conclusion that I really need to get more sleep, somehow.  I might start taking naps every day after school when I am feeling tired, and then do my homework later on when I can’t sleep anyway.  Have fun sleeping(:
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