Lack Of Sleep Essay

Register to read the introduction… Acquiring the right amount of sleep can also affect others, not just the sleeper, which may result in injury to multiple people. Just some of the physical repercussions for lack of sleep are elevated blood pressure, heart failure, heart attack, weight gain, stroke, fetal and childhood growth retardation, and injury (Breus). Basically, if one does not receive a sufficient amount of sleep, their physical condition will begin to decline until their entire life is at risk. There are also many mental consequences for the deprivation of sleep. Lack of sleep can massively impact the brain’s emotional stability and reactions. According to the Glassman Psychological Services, under conditions of sleep deprivation, the emotional centers of the brain are over sixty percent more reactive than when a normal amount of sleep is obtained. It is almost as though the brain reverts back to a more primitive pattern of activity when it does not have access to sufficient sleep funds. It can also cause concentration and memory problems, reduced problem-solving skills, inability to cope with stress, moodiness, lack of motivation, irritability, and difficulty making decisions (Smith, Robinson, and Segal). This matters because these are skills that teens use in everyday life, and without them their academic, work, and personal performances are compromised. No one wants to suffer these repercussions, but luckily there are easy ways to prevent them from …show more content…
It is very important for teens to come home to a calm, relaxing environment after school. To help make that happen teens should avoid any activities late in the afternoon that will excite their senses, save time for computer games, action movies, intense reading or heaving studying earlier in the day, should not have caffeine after four pm, keep lights dim in the evenings, and should have a regular, relaxing bedtime routine in the evenings (“Sleep and Teens”). In other words, if teens come home and start to unwind from the day, it will help them fall asleep earlier and sleep longer at night. Consequently, if teenagers start to take better care of their health, then they will be rewarded with a better night’s rest. They should also always avoid harmful activities that will, aside from harm their health, encroach on their sleep. For example, “They should also avoid smoking and drinking, along with hurting their health, nicotine and alcohol will disturb their sleep, and keeping a regular exercise routine and a healthy diet will help them sleep better at night as well” (“Sleep and Teens”). The significance of this quote is that not only is smoking and alcohol damaging to teens’ organs, it is also messing with their internal clock and sleep patterns, and keeping kids active and healthy has just become that much more important. Schools can also help their students with catching up on some shuteye. According to a study that was conducted in Wake County, North Carolina, “Delaying school start times by one hour, from roughly 7:30 to 8:30, increases standardized test scores by at least two percentile points in math and one percentile point in reading” (Edwards). This means that by starting school just a bit later, states can help pupils bump up their grades and get more sleep at the same time. Exercising these measures is not always easy, but they are