Don’t Let Your Teen Become a Victim of Insomnia

Insomnia, a health condition that was earlier only prevalent in adults, is now fast affecting teens too. Recent studies have shown that while teenagers should ideally sleep for 9 hours, many young adults today sleep for just 7 hours and 53 minutes on an average.

Lack of Sleep and Depression

Studies show that lack of sleep and depression are interlinked. Lack of sleep fuels depression in teenagers just as it does in adults.

Studies show that teenagers who sleep less than 5 hours have a 71% risk of developing symptoms associated with depression. Another startling figure that studies report is that teenagers who stay up late after midnight are at a 20% increased risk of getting clinically depressed and having thoughts of suicide. It isn’t without reason then, that the moniker “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy and wise” is still so prevalent to this day.

Numerous research studies also confirm what was generally known: girls, older teens, and those who have low self esteem are more likely to be prone to depression.

How insomnia affects teens

Studies have confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt that continuous lack of sleep in teens can result in depression. Also, inadequate sleep adversely affects their ability to judge, concentrate, and think objectively. If a child is continuously deprived of good sleep, he/she may constantly be in a bad mood, and also is likely to feel tired and fatigued all the time.

In addition to all these, insomnia adversely affects a teen’s performance, be it in sports or studies. In fact, if the condition continues for too long, one may start experiencing blackouts.

With so many known bad affects of insomnia, as a parent, you just can’t afford to be careless about your kid’s sleep. Talk to your child about the importance of sound sleep, and how the lack of sleep over a period of time can affect them.

If you or your teenager has problems sleeping, you may want to check out our insomnia program.

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