Study: Kids Don't Get Enough Sleep

[wdlove]

BOSTON -- Jobs, families, and activities make getting a full eight hours of sleep a night a luxury for most parents. But a new poll finds children are not getting enough sleep either, setting them up for serious problems.http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/2961043/detail.html?treets=bos&tml=bos_health&ts=T&tmi=bos_health_1_12150103312004

 

[jsw]

I agree - and I am one parent who would be getting more sleep if his child did. I have a 3.5-year-old who will not sleep more than 9 hours a day (and often less), and, of course, you can't sleep when the child's awake.

There are stories of people who get by nicely on 4 hours of sleep a night. I can tell you, I really pity their parents, since these people likely never needed very much sleep at all.

 

[laserbeahm]

Most kids sleep on crappy mattresses.

 

[macka]

I agree, as a kid (or was, am still, sort of...whatever) lack of sleep probably contributed to my feelings of irritation, tiredness, laziness and just plain old being cranky.

I think social circumstances have a lot to do with it and the way you were raised up (what time you were put to bed, what you did before, stress factors, family issues and values).

But I am certainly getting less sleep these days, than five years ago, or even a year ago. Stupid HSC...cramming....late night study...partying....or in other words typical teenage stuff.

 

[KC9AIC]

Part of the problem of sleeping is how much work kids commit themselves to. Due to being in a competitive educational program, I don't get nearly enough sleep. Starting in 10th grade, I no longer considered 10:40 late, and by now I consider midnight a fairly normal time to go to bed (and I often wake up at 6:30AM.) One night, because of homework, I spent 8 hours doing homework and 4 hours sleeping, and that was without having procrastinated on work.

 

[billyboy]

An hour before midnight is worth 2 after! I usually sleep 8 hours straight, but recently I have been stressing and am taking 4 or 5 hours, then napping. Not good and I can see how this is affecting my work. Unfortunately when people get by on sleep deprivation over a period of time, tiredness becomes normal and poor performance becomes the norm.

 

[PlaceofDis]

for the most part i try and get 7-8 hours of sleep in, unfortunately because im a light sleeper i might be in bed for 8 hours, but only get 6 hours of actual sleep....

 

[Giaguara]

as a kid .. like from since i was 10 or 11, i often slept only 2 hours per night. (up till about high school). it did make me tired but had so much to do .. and it did not prevent me from doing a lot of stuff or having good grades.

makes me wonder why i now sleep more.

 

[wdlove]

As a child I got a good nights sleep, my mother made sure that I was in bed by eight when I was in elementary. Then later it was nine. It was a real treat to get to see something after ten.

Now I get eight to nine hours of sleep each night.

 

[crenz]

I sometimes try to sleep less to be able to work more, but I find that I am at my most efficient when I have eight to nine hours of sleep as well. Thanks for posting this, wdlove

 

[latergator116]

Optimaly, I would like to get 8 hours of sleep on a school night- go to bed at 11 and wake up at 7. Usually it is more like got to bed at 12 and wake up at 6:30. When it is too late and I am feeling tired, I just skip the rest of my homework. I can't think staright working into the wee hours of the morning. I have an ecspecially hard time getting homework done (essays in particular) because I procrastinate and I find it hard to work for more than 20-30 minutes at a time.

 

[Dr. Zauis]

One night, because of homework, I spent 8 hours doing homework and 4 hours sleeping, and that was without having procrastinated on work.

8 hours of homework! are you sure you're not exaggerating?
Either your teachers are overloading you or you need to manage your time better.

 

[haiggy]

Heh, I'm in grade nine and this iBook is so addicting I'm up until 12:00 every night having to wake up at 7:20AM. Currently it is 11:30PM, so I have 0:30 more minutes to go. Man I gotta play less WarCraft III... Heh, nice new smilies.

 

[MrMacMan]

BOSTON -- Jobs, families, and activities make getting a full eight hours of sleep a night a luxury for most parents. But a new poll finds children are not getting enough sleep either, setting them up for serious problems.http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/2961043/detail.html?treets=bos&tml=bos_health&ts=T&tmi=bos_health_1_12150103312004

Stop posting these articles and I will get some more sleep!

God damn You!


Must post...must post...

 

[rueyeet]

As a child I got a good nights sleep, my mother made sure that I was in bed by eight when I was in elementary. Then later it was nine. It was a real treat to get to see something after ten.

Now I get eight to nine hours of sleep each night.

My parents did that too, and I need to get more sleep rather than less (nine hours is optimal) to be at my best, but I find that a reasonable bedtime that allows for that means that my life becomes one long cycle of work-eat-sleep-work. So to find time for a social life, I've sacrificed sleep.

Further complicating things is that I've had trouble getting to sleep ever since babyhood....of the time I'm in bed, at least a half-hour to an hour can go to just GETTING to sleep (and that's without waking up during the night and having to do it all over again).

Needless to say, "not a morning person" doesn't even begin to cover it.