Teens who do not sleep are more at risk of mental problems
Sleep is essential for health, and this is revealed by a multitude of scientific investigations in this regard. In this line, a work has just examined the effects of lack of sleep on mental health, and has found how to really cEach hour of sleep affects the mind, especially that of adolescents.
For the study, published in February in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, the researchers analyzed a sample of 27,939 students of different races in Virginia (United States). So, they discovered that although teenagers need to sleep about nine hours on average, according to the US authorities, only three percent of the respondents said that they slept such a number of them. In fact, 20 percent of adolescents indicated that they slept five hours or less, placing themselvesto average of the entire sample in 6.5 hours to sleep every weekday.
Sleeping a little, a problem for teenagers
After controlling the contexts of each of the respondents, such as family status or income, researchers determined that each hour less of sleep was associated with a 38 percent increase in sad thoughts and hopeless, a 42 percent increase in thoughts of suicide, 58 percent of attempts to take their own lives and 23 percent of abuses
These correlations do not prove that lack of sleep causes these problems, although the opposite is true: depression and anxiety cause insomnia. Even so, most of the scientific evidence supports a causal relationship between lack of sleep and mental problems, as co-author of the work Adam Winsler, who is a professor of psychology at George Mason University, says.
Risks of not sleeping for teenagers
Sleep deficit reduces brain function, the most worrisome areas in which even well-rested adolescents try to have control: executive function, self-control and judgment. "Parents, educators and therapists need to pay attention to the role of sleep in the prevention of mental illness among young people", Winsler points to this, which ensures that the effect of sleep is probably more important than therapies and medications.
On this, it is worth highlighting some of theThe main risks of not getting enough sleep:
1. Excessive hunger and anxiety
2. More risks of having an accident
3. Less physical attractiveness
4. More likely to have the flu
5. Loss of brain tissue
6. More emotions
7. Less concentration, more memory problems
Benefits of sleeping well
On several occasions the experts speak not only of the risks of not sleeping well, but of the many benefits of doing so. We highlight them in this list.
1. Increase creativity
2.Help to lose weight
3. Makes you feel healthier
4.Improves memory
5. Protect the heart
6. Reduce depression
Angela R. Bonachera
