Risky behaviors more common among teens who get too little or too much sleep

Risky behaviors more common among teens who get too little or too much sleep


A new study has found that enforcing your teenager’s curfew is critical to their safety.

Results of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveys conducted nationally between 2007 and 2013 show that high school students reported a higher rate of risky behaviors on the days after they got little sleep. Such behaviors include ignoring basic safety precautions with bicycles and vehicles, riding in a car with a drunken driver, texting while driving and not using bicycle helmets.

The researchers said getting seven hours of sleep or less was linked to riskier choices. One way to avoid that is making your child put down their phone at night: The use of electronic devices is typically cited as a key culprit in limiting teenagers’ sleep. Researchers also found that too much sleep can also be a problem. It was linked to an increase in more dangerous behavior, especially among teens who slept 10 or more hours.

Nearly one-third of the teenagers in the study slept for seven hours on school nights. Just less than a quarter of the teens said they averaged eight hours of sleep on a school night. Girls tended to get less sleep than boys, and seniors in high school got less than freshmen.

To diminish the negative effects of electronics on sleep, the researchers suggest limiting when and where teenagers can use electronic devices. Consider prohibiting devices in the bedroom and after a certain hour to help teens’ minds and bodies wind down in preparation for restful sleep. It’s a habit we all would do well to practice — adults included.

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