B2 – Upper Intermediate
If you have teenagers at home, then you’re probably familiar with the problem of them not going to bed on time and consequently, not being able to wake up the next morning for school.
Read the article below to discover the importance of getting enough sleep for teenagers and how to help them get enough of it.
Discussion Questions:
- Why do you think most teenagers are “night owls”?
- How were your sleeping habits like when you were a teen? What would you have done differently?
- As an adult, do you still have difficulties getting enough sleep? Why or why not?
- What are some of the health issues that are associated to sleeplessness?
6 replies on “Teenagers and Sleep”
1. There is a modification in their circadian rhythm. During puberty melatonin is produced at a later time than during childhood or maturity thus why teens fall asleep later than before.
2. I do recall quite the opposite. I tried to have very good marks at school and could study better in the morning than in the evening. In consequence, I went to bed very early, by 9pm and woke up by 4am, to study….a bit crazy, i know!
3. Oh YES! It has been quite some time since I can´t sleep as nicely as I used to. This is called ´getting older´. My body doesn´t produce as much melatonin as it did, in the past, thus why I try to take it, artificially, via drops or capsules, to allow me to sleep sufficient time.
4.The clearest effect of a bad night is the dizziness feeling, the day after. It is difficult to focus, you feel tired, sometimes you can’t ‘even articulate the words properly…in the long term, it has very serious consequences. To sleep is an essential action for our body. It is not just about having a rest, it is about eliminating toxins and fixing memory. Lack of proper sleep can induce to depression, dementia ….very serious consequences. Better to medicate yourself than to prevent your body from a restoring sleeping time.
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1. Why do you think most teenagers are “night owls”?
I feel like teenagers are going through a stage of many changes at biological level. I feel like hormones are kind of crazy at that time of our lifes and this results in a revolution, not only phisically but also mental.
Along with first years of life, I think adolescence is one of the most iportant periods when talking about the emotional development of a person. That’s why I feel it’s probably more difficult to establish routines.
2. How were your sleeping habits when you were a teen? What would you have done differently?
During the school period I used to be very responsible, however, during weekends or holidays I used to stay up late.
I don’t feel I would change anything. I think I had a healthy life and that’s part of the development.
3. As an adult, do you still have difficulties getting enough sleep? Why or why not?
Sometimes. I don’t have sleeping issues, however, sometimes I spend too much time with my phone and I go to bed late because of that. I do not like this, because I am not doing anything productive for myself, I just get stucked whatching videos, but sometimes is so addictive that it is difficult to stop.
4. What are some of the health issues that are associated to sleeplessness?
As far as I know, there are more possibilities of having cardiovascular issues when you don’t sleep properly. I recently read, when you don’t sleep your brain “eats itself”.
And other health issues such as diabetes and obesity may also be related to sleep issues.
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I agree with the article, habits and some diseases have direct influence in the life style, and if we talk about teenagers it is very important because this can damage their adult health.
When I was a teenager I used to sleep like a log and it was really hard to wake up everyday, nowadays is inversed it is harder for me to get sleep and easy to wake up!
Frequently I have imsomnio but I don’t need to take pills, I only relax and that all.
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