What’s YOUR Sleep Debt?

I heard a report on the radio yesterday that said teens are seriously short on sleep. Yes, I realize this isn’t any great newsflash…this was the case when I was a teen, too (lo those many years ago!). But the sleep deficit named in the article – meaning, the amount of hours of sleep the average teen is missing out on per week – actually stunned me. The number? 5-10 hours each week. Which when you multiply it by 52 weeks = a whopping 11-22 DAYS worth of sleep!

Running short on sleep isn’t good for anyone, but for teens, the consequences are even more critical. For example:

• Even though you’re gathering info at school during the day, you need to sleep for that info to really become part of your knowledge-base
• Lack of sleep affects your memory
• Being tired makes it harder for you to listen and concentrate
• Lack of sleep can cause you to be impatient, inappropriate, or aggressive around your friends and family
• Lack of sleep weakens your immune system, so you’ll be more prone to getting stick

I’m a big advocate of self-care, and I consider sleep to be a major component of this. In fact, I nap at will and I’m not afraid to say it! I believe in listening to our bodies and I know that if my body is saying it’s behind on sleep there is no way and no how that I’m going to be anything even resembling productive as I tackle my work. I know all too well that when I’m running on fumes, not only will my work suffer, but my ability to parent my son, squeeze in my exercise, and basically show up for life seriously plummets.

And I know that the same is true for teens, especially when you’re experiencing any kind of stress or anxiety about school, friends, family, relationships, or anything else. Skipping out on sleep and being sleep deprived just makes all of this stress worse. Then the stress leads to insomnia. And so the whole vicious cycle continues.

So how can you start taking care of yourself by getting the 9-plus hours of nightly sleep recommended by pediatricians? The NPR story offered a few suggestions for getting yourself to bed more easily, including:

• Dimming the lights in the house and your room as your bedtime approaches, since light is a “drug that promotes wakefulness”
• Create a transition ritual between wake time and bedtime, such as taking a warm shower, to help slow your body down
• Have a set lights out time and stick to it
• Read or listen to a book no more than 30 minutes if you’re having trouble sleeping once lights out time has passed

And my biggest piece of advice? Know that you’re worth the extra sleep. Know that by going to bed early to give your body a chance to rest and recharge, even when that little voice in your head is reminding you that you’ve got too much to do to possibly consider catching some zzzz’s, you are actually being the best kind of self-interested. And that kind of self-care will pay off in all areas of your life!