How Much Sleep Do Teenagers Need?

Most parents of a teenagers begin to wonder whether or not their child's sleeping patterns are normal at some point. The majority of teens love to stay up late and then sleep in late, which may work out great for the weekends, but does not work during the school week. When parents feel great after 7 or 8 hours of sleep, they may wonder why their teen seems to need more sleep than they do. But teens need more sleep than the average adult in order to be healthy and happy.

The recommended amount of sleep a teenager needs is 8 ½ to 9 1/2 hours to be able to do well in school. Many teens that are up until midnight are depriving their bodies of a couple of hours of sleep a night, which over time will impact their ability to concentrate and pay attention in school. Not only does this have an influence when it comes to studying and sports, but also when these teens are driving, causing accidents due to being drowsy from sleep deprivation. Not getting enough sleep can lead to depression, feeling sad and moodiness.

New studies on the sleep patterns of teens are showing that teenagers who begin school classes before eight thirty in the morning are not as alert as the teens who attend schools that start at eight thirty. That extra thirty minutes makes a big difference. Teens usually are not sleepy at ten at night and do not get to sleep until eleven at the earliest. If they have to be up at seven in order to catch a bus at seven thirty, this means they are only getting eight hours of sleep a night. If school start times were delayed by thirty minutes, there would be a lot less sleep-deprived teenagers. Even after these studies have been done, there are schools claiming it is too expensive to change the hours. In some states federal grants are being issued to school boards to change their start hours to eight thirty a.m. Teacher, parents and students all need to be educated on how much sleep is necessary and important.