Teens Aren't Getting Enough Sleep — & This High School Has a Plan to Fix It
Many districts have pushed for a delayed start time for high-schoolers (backed by the CDC and AAP), but this school is taking a more novel approach. Give the teens the skills needed to get better sleep and encourage them to pay attention to how many hours of shut-eye they get a night to see firsthand how going to bed late affects them.
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Mansfield health teacher Tony Davis, who incorporated a new sleep curriculum into his health class, told Associated Press, 'It might sound odd to say that kids in high school have to learn the skills to sleep' (Especially if your teen never seems to want to wake up in the morning!) 'But you'd be shocked how many just don't know how to sleep,' he added.
The outlet interviewed students in the classroom, who revealed various unhealthy sleep practices they used: like scrolling through TikTok or texting in late-night group chats with friends until they doze off. And surveys of Davis's five classes found that over 60% of students use their phone as an alarm clock and over 50% go to sleep while looking at their phones.
To help, Mansfield is piloting a new curriculum, 'Sleep to Be a Better You,' that has teens keep daily sleep logs for six weeks and rate their mood and energy levels, while learning healthy sleep habits. And it's working! The students are reporting feeling happier after increasing their nightly sleep, which makes sense. After all, not sleeping enough can affect your moods, decision-making abilities, impulse control, focus, mental health, and so much more.
The CDC recommends that teens get 8-10 hours of sleep per night. Unfortunately, that is just not happening. The CDC conducted a Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 77% of students in 2021 didn't get enough sleep, which is up from 69% I 2009. This study also found that girls (80%), Black students (84%), and 12th grade students (84%) were the highest demographics of not getting enough sleep.
And it's not just social media keeping these kids awake. Students are also feeling burdened by college applications, extracurricular activities, and the stress of growing up.
A recent study by Common Sense Media, aided by researchers at Harvard and Indiana University, found that teens are increasingly experiencing levels of stress and burnout that are typically seen in adults. Specifically, teens are stressed about their future plan, achievements, appearance, social life, and other areas. SheKnows polled our own Teen Council as part of our 'Be a Man' series and found that over 90% of teens surveyed admitted to feeling stressed frequently or occasionally, with 54.5% attributing this to grades and extracurriculars.
Amanda Lenhart, Head of Research at Common Sense Media, told SheKnows, 'Teens are telling us that they face intense pressures, and are looking to adults to support rather than dismiss their concerns, to share in their joys and work with them to help prioritize critical self-care practices and create more balance in their lives.'
So help your teen take a step back, support them, and encourage them to get more sleep, especially on school nights. If your school district doesn't have sleep training classes (which is the most likely scenario, at least for now), you can teach your teens at home by having easy and compassionate discussions about building strong sleeping skills that will benefit them now and throughout life.
Jennifer L.W. Fink, author and co-host of ON BOYS parenting podcast, previously told SheKnows that parents should prioritize rest and sleep to help their teens do the same. 'Give teens space, time, and encouragement to REST,' she said. 'Prioritize sleep, time off, and rejuvenating activities, and talk about why you do so.'
'Helping students create regular routines and healthy boundaries with energy-draining communications can help them avoid burnout,' she added.Best of SheKnows
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