Is Your Teen Too Tired?

You can hardly get your teenager out of bed on a school day, and her teachers complain that she's asleep in her classes.

Before you start enforcing stricter bedtime curfews for your teen, read today's excerpt from my new book Intelligence For Your Life:  Powerful Lessons For Personal Growth.

Since the beginning of time (or at least since I was a teenager), parents have been fighting to kick their teens out of bed in the morning. Parents, I have good news: Your teenager isn’t lazy. He or she really does need more sleep.

I have reported on a number of studies that have found that most teens need a little more than nine hours of sleep every night. It’s all about their changing hormones. Teenagers are in a critical growth stage, and more hormones are released during slumber time. But with our kids usually going to bed around 11 p.m. and having to be up to get ready for school at 7 a.m. or earlier, they’re not getting anywhere near enough sleep to function the way they should.

Some schools are responding to this problem by creating later start times. The results have been extraordinary. Grades are up and dropout rates are down. Study results show that students who don’t get enough sleep usually get Cs and Ds, while well-rested kids get As and Bs. Teachers also say that delayed start times for school result in livelier classes with more student participation. t’s easy to see why: The kids are actually awake!

Why, exactly, are grades up at these late-starting schools? When the body is resting, the brain’s neurons still buzz and chatter. Sleep solidifies memories, so the homework your teen does before bed really has time to solidify during the night. Kids who study and then gets a good night’s sleep usually remember more of what they’re learning and do better on exams.

By the way, behavioral problems among kids in middle school and high school significantly disappear when they get more sleep. The reason? A lack of sleep makes kids cranky and more likely to act out. Remember that the teen brain lacks some control over strong emotions, which can lead to mood swings. Sleep helps in this department too.

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

I've got one more bonus tip on how to deal with a drowsy teen. You can find it in my upcoming new book Intelligence For Your Life:  Powerful Lessons For Personal Growth.  For a limited time until March 11, 2008, you can pre-order the book at half price and you'll receive a free John Tesh Alive Music&Dance DVD. Just click here.