What does sleep deprivation to do to a teens mind and well being?
- Sheryl Oben
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Ever notice it’s harder to focus after a bad night's sleep? If teens have a bad night's sleep they might feel more groggier and down in the morning and the reason for that is that sleep is an essential thing that every person needs and without the right amount it damages the mind.
Sleep
Sleep plays an important role in the physical, social mental well being of teens: if a teen does not get enough sleep they have memory, focus and mood problems. For example sleep helps to preserve memory that can help them for studying for a test or learning how to play an instrument : if teens do not get the right amount of sleep they require their memory will start to be foggy their academic performance can go down due to them possibly failing test because they cant remember what they studied. Not only can their academic performance go down but relationships can. By not getting enough sleep it breaks the brain's ability to encode, consolidate and retrieve information, affecting short memory and focus. Sleep deprivation disrupts the hippocampus- brain center for preserving memories- making hard to form new memories and causing forgetfulness, meaning if a teen does not get the right amount of sleep, things they want and need to remember could be forgotten the next day. Also not getting enough sleep affects an adolescent's mood,and sleep affects everyone's mood but it seems to be more prevalent in teens because of all of the social responsibilities they will take on as they are transitioning into adults. For example if teens don't get enough sleep causes them to be in a bad mood causing bad behavior which can lead to dropped friendship with their friends and family they can say things that hurts them or do it while they may not mean suffering from sleep deprivation put you in endless cycle of being in a bad mood which would make a teen possibly end up alone.
Stress
Teens not getting enough sleep can lead to immense loads of stress, cortical and brain overload. Not getting enough sleep amplifies the body's stress response making you have more stress the following day. Sleep deprivation does not only impair cognitive function but it raises the production of stress hormones like cortisol. Sleep deprivation means cognitive decline making it harder to not be in that fight or flight mode, making you feeling constantly unstable and unable to focus on things. Cortisol is the main stress hormone in the body which can affect almost every agonism in the body links the lungs metabolism, etc; when teens don't get enough sleep not only are they going to have a brain overload because their cortisol is high but it can also like high blood pressure , muscle weakness, mood swings,etc. In summary sleep deprivation can cause an immense amount of stress on teens leading them to have cortisol-overloading stress on their brain since it is the main stress hormone and the high cortisol can also cause numerous of bad effects on the boy, so it is very important teens get the right amount of sleep every night because if they don't it raises their stress badly and the effects are detrimental to a teen's health.
Why this matters
This matters because sleep deprivation can lead to some bad disorders in teens and potentially kill them. For example, a 202 study in JAMA psychiatry found that individuals with poor sleep were at an increased risk of developing mood disorder anxiety and depression(Wang et al). Since sleep is important for emotions regulation;Sleep deprivation heightens the body's stressors , making them more prone to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Also studies have shown that teens/adolescents that can't or won't go to sleep early have a low metabolic profile with heightened blood pressure and calostretschy pressure.
Also if teens/adolescents don't get enough sleep it may lead to inflammation in the brain which may lead to neurodegenerative diseases . No sleep can eventually cause limited red blood vessels to be damaged leading to blood clots or silent strokes and if these silent strokes keep increasing then it would possibly cause to dementia. Sleep deprivation also will drop school performance by letting our focus get worse and the memory of what you could have studied fade. Also it is very bad for your mental health leading to increased anxiety,mood disorders and depression which could ruin our life, so sleep deprivation must be avoided to contribute to teen wellbeing.
Tips
Sleep deprivation could be easily avoided if teens/adolescents can follow these few tips . First, Adolescents should set a good sleep schedule, creating a consistent relaxing and untwining bedtime routine can let you untwine into bed perfectly and trying to wake and go to sleep at the same time really helps a lot with your circadian rhythm, an internal clock that tells your body when to wake and sleep.If you go to bed and wake t the same time everyday your body is in check and it will benefit your health. Also trying to reduce screen time, especially 30 minutes-1 hours before bed, helps as well. This is because melatonin, a natural hormone preparing your body for sleep, is reduced by the blue light on your phone which can make it hard to fall asleep when you eventually put it away. Also phones have a way of distracting us, so when you even use it before bed it can distract you from sleeping, eventually you will fall asleep but it might not be enough considering most of the time Teens will have to get ready for school or have something to do that day. In summary, to prevent sleep deprivation have a good and relaxing nighttime routine to fall asleep quicker, try to help wake up and go to sleep the same everyday and try reducing screen time 30 minutes- 1 hour before bed to unwind and let the melatonin roam free making you fall asleep nice and easy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, sleep is vital to Teens/adolescents' well -being and not getting enough can be detrimental to their mind and wellbeing . For example it can make their school performances go down because they might have memory and focus problems due to the cognitive impairment caused by sleep deprivation. It can lead them to have immense amounts of stress and lead to increased anxiety and depression and other mood disorders, causing even more harm in their day to day lives. Lately it can even cause neurological diseases like alzheimers, if the sleep deprivation of a teen is a long term thing. That is why it is best for adolescents to avoid sleep deprivation by having good sleep schedules, having relaxing night routines and reducing screen time before bed. All of this can help promote better sleep and for longer;making sleep deprivation be avoided contributes to a more healthy teen.
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