Newsweek article, Today Show topic
Oct 17th, 2007 by justsimplyholly
I’m an avid watcher of The Today Show, I tune it in every morning at 7:00 a.m. without hesitation! They just did a segment on teens and sleep that I think was great, but one thing that was said really caught my attention. First, you can read the Newsweek article HERE, it’s a great read that I highly recommend!
What was said on The Today Show that caught my interest and made me start paying attention to the segment was “Teens need at least nine hours of sleep a night”. OK, I know that I technically only have one teenager and that he is a young teen that is not quite 15, but between him and his 12 year old sister, I still feel I “qualify” as a parent of teens. My opinion on the 9 hours of sleep is that it is fairly accurate, I know that my own children function much better on more sleep. I also know that my husband and myself are early risers, so we do get to bed at a decent hour on most nights, and the kids know that when we go to bed, they also go to bed. Our average bed time around here is 10:00 p.m., with some nights being as early as 9:00, but usually rarely later than 10:00. On school/work mornings my hubby is up at 4:45 a.m., I am usually up shortly after that and the kids get up around 6:00. It is not possible for them to get up later than that and be ready to get to the bus in time, so there is no possibility of making their wake up time any later. So in order for my teens to get 9 hours of sleep a night it would be necessary for them to be asleep by 9:00 p.m., not just in bed, but actually sleeping. I don’t know any teen that goes to bed early enough to be fully asleep by 9:00 p.m., as a matter of fact, most kids that are the same age(s) as mine are usually are up later. My sister has a 13 yr old daughter, and I know that it’s rare that she’s in bed BEFORE 10:00 p.m.
A s young teens get older, you add jobs to their school/sports/extra circular activities schedule. Which means that it’s rare that they can do their homework immediately following school, making homework time after work, making the possibility of them getting 6 hours of sleep a complete miracle, and the possibility of 9 hours of sleep completely impossible. It’s no wonder you seen teens chugging down energy drinks like they’re going out of style these days! It scares me to think that I am not too far away from having a child in this stage of their life.
Anyway, I don’t know what my point is anymore, other than to post the article and get peoples feedback. I think it’s a great thought, the 9 hours of sleep, but I don’t think it’s something that is physically possible for the vast majority of teens!
One Response to “Newsweek article, Today Show topic”
When I was in high school I only got nine hours of sleep on Saturday and sometimes Friday nights. Because of where I lived (boonies) I had to wake up early to catch the bus so sleeping in was not an option. I was in marching band and we had sectionals after school as well as night practice, then there were the football games and the parades and events we sometimes did. Truth be told, Sunday was the only guaranteed day that I could sleep in.
Then there was the fact that I am not a morning person either. XD sometimes, in order to wake me up I had to be enticed with my obsession - “Joana, Digimon is on!” Always up and awake ASAP.
The point, although I always felt better if I got a good amount of sleep I never got to bed before 10 o’clock. I think there is so much pressure to hurry up and ‘grow up’ and take responsibility that we don’t allow kids to be kids anymore.