They often have a big mouth. Don't listen to anything. And especially teenagers are very lazy. Just a few prejudices about teenagers. Okay, the average teen can toss and turn in that bed. While in the evening you have to move heaven and earth to get them. Do you also have such a hard time getting your teenager out of bed in the morning? Or, in the evening, right in it? That doesn't necessarily mean you have a lazy child. Or one who refuses to listen. Research shows that adolescents need much more sleep than adults. Is your adolescent tired in school too? Then this is the article for you.
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Almost half of young people between the ages of 15 and 18 suffer from chronic sleep deprivation. And then the argument that adolescents are just lazy is really too short-sighted. Because, as it turns out:they do need much more sleep than adults.
In Belgium, sleep specialists have conducted a large-scale survey among Belgian adolescents. More than half of them indicate that they need to sleep at least 8 to 9 hours in order to be fit the next day. But they also indicate that they do not get those hours of sleep. Result:your adolescent tired, irritable and unenjoyable.
Sufficient sleep is important for everyone. And for kids just as important as it is for adults. After all, they are still very much in their development. It is not for nothing that we have written about it many times before. Enough sleep is important to be alert , solve problems , include information and handle stress † So as soon as the night's sleep kicks in, it has a lot of nasty consequences. A lack of sleep can lead to emotional and behavioral problems. Think of an irritable teenager – no fun . But poor impulse control, aggression and even depression can also be the result of chronic sleep deprivation. Is your teenager tired? Then you might think it's a matter of going to bed on time. But that also turns out not to be entirely true.
Read also :Bedtimes for teenagers
If your teenager is tired, you can of course send that bastard to bed on time. Unfortunately, Mother Nature isn't cooperating completely. It has determined that the sleep rhythm 'shifts' during puberty. As a result, adolescents only get sleep later. Oh, and so they need to sleep in in the morning. As a parent, you can't agree with that, but our kids can't help it that nature has arranged it this way, right?
Although we all too often compare the sleeping rhythm of adolescents with our own rhythm, this is not justified. On average, adolescents fall asleep an hour later than their parents. Plus, they actually need an extra hour. Then that shortage increases to 2 hours. Moreover, it appears that adolescents regularly have difficulty falling asleep. How that comes about is unknown. However, this leads to even more sleep deprivation. Result:adolescent tired and irritable, and therefore mom and dad too. Do you want to boost the atmosphere at home? Then let your teenager sleep in more often. But yes, of course there is also such a thing as compulsory education.
Whatever nature has in store for our kids, we prefer to arrange things differently ourselves. Because teenagers have to work! And so that school bell just rings at half past nine. Although adolescents need more sleep than adults, they should not expect to be able to lie comfortably on one ear. And why not? For years, all kinds of studies have told us that the rhythm of an adolescent simply differs from that of an adult. Yet not much is done with it.
Experiments have been done with late school hours in the US. And with success. Adolescents slept an hour longer, had breakfast more often, were calmer and more alert in class and they had less stress. And although that has not been included, I think their parents also suffered a lot less from stress 😉 . What do you think about that? Should schools start later to give our teenagers that extra hour of sleep?
Unless we all write to Mark Rutte, school times will not change anytime soon. But there are also a few small things you can do yourself. Try to prevent your teenager from using the smartphone in the hour before going to bed. Tablets and smartphones tend to wake up a teenager completely. Then an hour of watching TV is a better idea. Although you are also looking at a screen here, this is a much more passive activity. So if your teenager is tired, it's better to put him or her in front of the TV. Is the chance of falling asleep greater than with a smartphone in bed 😉 .
Finally, we fully understand that you want to plan fun family activities on the weekend. Maybe grandma has already finished the coffee. There is a good chance that your adolescent really does not want to consciously throw a spanner in the works. He's just catching up on that chronic sleep deprivation! So maybe you can start the days out in the afternoon? Or just turn a blind eye while your teenager does the same?
Read also :Dealing with adolescents, it remains a challenge
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