You can probably already guess that most teenagers don’t get enough sleep at night. Whether it be from a busy schedule or homework, it is clear that most have trouble getting to bed earlier than they should. But what is causing them to lose so much sleep?
Researchers have recently found that YouTube is the leading cause of sleep loss for teens. All of us use our phones before bedtime, and some of us even use them to help us fall asleep, but it’s doing the opposite. The research found that thirty minutes of phone time before bed resulted in a nine-minute delay in bedtime. They also found that using YouTube specifically before bed made you 24% less likely to get good sleep for every fifteen minutes used. Of course, using any social media app before bed will most likely affect your sleep, but YouTube was found to have the most negative effect.
Throughout our teenage years, we need approximately 8-10 hours of sleep every day (even on weekends). But, it can be a challenge to meet this requirement. In the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, they found that only 7 out of 10 high school students felt like they got enough to sleep on a school night. Now, that percentage may have changed, but I’m sure it hasn’t lowered with the advancement of social media over the years.
It’s important to get these 10 hours of sleep, but it’s easy to overlook it. Getting lots of sleep is important for your development (especially as you’re growing) and missing that mark can result in a lot of issues. So, tonight as you get ready for bed, try to put down that phone and tuck in before 9:00 pm.
Sources used:
https://www.phillyvoice.com/youtube-teen-sleep-deprivation-electronics/