The Importance of Sleep on Mental Health
We all know that sleep is important. It helps maintain your immune system, lower your risk for certain health conditions and support your attention and memory. There’s evidence that losing sleep can make the risk of injuries significantly greater, and researchers have been able to draw a line from lack of sleep to poor mental health.
For teens, sleep deficiency can impact their behavior, growth and overall development. Because teens have fewer tools to navigate mental concerns than adults, the toll that lack of sleep can take on their mental health can be staggering. Depression, anger, impulsivity, and other issues can be quick to arrive in a young person having trouble sleeping.
As sleep issues continue, teens can experience increasingly poor decision-making, making risky behaviors more likely. As one study which studied sleep in 10,000 children indicated, “Notably, when adolescents experienced an increase in their sleep problems, they also experienced increases in both emotional and behavioral problems.” The effect of lack of sleep on emotional problems was the most significant.
Why Teens Aren’t Sleeping
In a CDC survey, seven out of 10 high school students did not get the eight to 10 hours they need each night. Why is this happening? There seems to be a handful of reasons. Homework, parental expectations, social pressures, technology—teens are constantly barraged by sleep disruptors.
Unfortunately, this cycle only feeds itself. Many stressed teens are more likely to go to bed at 11 p.m. or later, according to The Better Sleep Council, though lack of sleep directly affects stress levels.
Another factor? School start times. The CDC has endorsed later school start times, citing that in puberty, adolescents’ shifting biological rhythms mean they become sleepy later at night. Early school start times, as a result, leave kids and teens with poor sleep hygiene.
What Can Be Done?
Because mental health is so tightly linked to sleep, when a teen’s sleep improves, often so too will their health. Though this is easier said than done, taking steps to prioritize sleep can hugely affect satisfaction, confidence, concentration and overall quality of life.
Here are some tips, if you or your teen are dealing with sleep and mental health issues:
Remove electronic devices from your bedroom.
Practice stress management, such as getting organized, planning ahead and meditation.
Stick to a consistent sleep schedule.
Avoid caffeine or alcohol around bedtime.
Be physically active during the day.
Create a quiet, dark and restful bedroom environment.
If problems with sleep persist, consider seeing a sleep specialist.
With so many different factors contributing to poor sleep, it is critical to prioritize addressing them, so teens can pave the way for better mental health outcomes for life.
