Sleep Deprivation and Depression: A Real Threat among Teen Agers

The world is one big party place which never sleeps and where fun abounds like no other. With teens being so much bolder and independent these days, the recipe for sleep deprivation and depression is complete.

Take stock of their daily schedules and activities. By a mere glance, one can gauge right away that they can't hardly sleep on time anymore. If school starts at about 7:30 in the morning, that student needs to be up and about at between 6:00 to 6:30 a.m. To meet the daily sleep requirement of 8 hours, this means being in bed asleep at about 10:00 p.m.every night. In a study done by Wolfson and Carskadon back in 1998, it was seen that about 26 percent of high school students routinely sleep for less than 6.5 hours.

When these happen, there are prices to pay with regards to health. Schools may have noticed how insufficient sleep has caused problems  in school because this is associated with neurobehavioral capacities. Aside from diminished cognitive abilities and focus seen in poor grades, students also show tiredness, sleepiness and behavioral problems. Defiance of school rules and rebellion are usual reasons for disciplinary actions. In many cases these can even be related to depression, or to be more precise, sleep deprivation and depression.

The following information regarding sleep deprivation and depression based on and analysis of Columbia data were shared in an article by Greg Toppo (USA Today, 2009) :

1. Adolescents and teenagers whose parents didn't require them to be in bed before midnight on school nights were found to be forty-two percent more likely to suffer from depression than were teens whose parents required them to be in bed by 10 p.m.

2. Teens who were regularly allowed to stay up later than 10 p.m, were determined to be 30 percent more likely to have had suicidal thoughts in the past year.

3. After controlling for factors such as age, sex, race and ethnicity, the researchers found that the differences were "smaller but still significant" -  25 percent in the depression category and 20 percent in the suicidal ideation category.

It is obvious that old-school style of setting limits on time and discipline are still sorely needed. Mishaps like sleep deprivation and depression among teens can be avoided, if parenthood will be taken closer to one?s heart.