73 percent of teens don’t get enough sleep, and it affects their mental and physical life on a daily basis. Some important things to take note of when discussing this topic is the amount of sleep you should be receiving, the stages of sleep, and the negative impacts a lack of sleep can have on you. When you sleep, your brain and body is getting replenished, and it helps you carry out tasks during the day. Different age groups need different amounts of sleep because their minds and bodies are growing differently. Infants are advised to get 13-16 hours of sleep, which may seem a lot to us because we usually only get 8 hours on a school day, but really that is what a baby’s body needs to sustain itself, which is why they need to sleep a lot. Teens generally need 8-10 hours of sleep to stay healthy, but too much sleep can be bad for you too. According to the American Sleep Association, “A recent study confirms that people sleeping beyond eight hours may have an increased cardiovascular related death rate.” This proves that too much sleep may lead to other problems in your body, like heart diseases which, ultimately, can cause death. Although sleeping may seem very simple, it’s actually quite intricate. See, there are 4 stages of sleep. In the first stage of sleep, you are easily awakened and can make some sudden movements. Your eyes move very slowly and your muscles slow down, and you are in a light sleep. During the second stage, your eyes stop moving completely, and your brain waves start to become slower as well. When you enter the third stage of sleep, your brain waves become extremely slow and actually start producing delta waves a little bit, and by stage four, the delta waves are produced numerously, and you are in a deep sleep. The final stage is called the REM stage, which stands for rapid eye movements. In this stage, your limb muscles are temporarily paralyzed, your heart beats are more quick and irregular, and your eyes jerk involuntarily in many directions. In this stage, people also have unique illusions, also known as dreams. Now, since we already know that teens need 8-10 hours of sleep, what happens if you don’t get it? Well, if you don’t get enough sleep, there could be a lot of negative effects to your mental and physical health. For example, it can cause you to struggle in school, have trouble with memory, concentration, and motivation, and it can even make you feel sad and depressed. And those are only the mental effects on your body. Physically, you might actually fall asleep in places you shouldn’t, like school or while in a car, and you could also get breakouts and eye bags because of a lack of sleep. I encourage you to get the right amount of sleep to stay at your best and be able to accomplish your goals. The right amount of sleep means no eye bags, no laziness, but YES to a glowing mood. So, if you didn’t sleep well last night, TAKE A NAP, because sleep ensures an active and healthy lifestyle.
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