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    Problem Solution Essay Final

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    Teenagers are facing an epidemic of lack of proper sleep. Most teens do not get the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep per night due to biological changes in their circadian rhythm making it difficult to fall asleep earlier. Not getting enough quality sleep can have negative health effects like increased risk of cardiovascular disease. While pushing back school start times could help teens get more sleep, there are also lifestyle changes they can make like exercising, limiting screen time before bed, and avoiding caffeine late in the day to influence their circadian rhythms and improve sleep.

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    Problem Solution Essay Final

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    api-404957931
    313 views4 pages
    Teenagers are facing an epidemic of lack of proper sleep. Most teens do not get the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep per night due to biological changes in their circadian rhythm making it difficult to fall asleep earlier. Not getting enough quality sleep can have negative health effects like increased risk of cardiovascular disease. While pushing back school start times could help teens get more sleep, there are also lifestyle changes they can make like exercising, limiting screen time before bed, and avoiding caffeine late in the day to influence their circadian rhythms and improve sleep.

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    Teenagers are facing an epidemic of lack of proper sleep. Most teens do not get the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep per night due to biological changes in their circadian rhythm making it difficult to fall asleep earlier. Not getting enough quality sleep can have negative health effects like increased risk of cardiovascular disease. While pushing back school start times could help teens get more sleep, there are also lifestyle changes they can make like exercising, limiting screen time before bed, and avoiding caffeine late in the day to influence their circadian rhythms and improve sleep.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    313 views4 pages

    Problem Solution Essay Final

    Uploaded by

    api-404957931
    Teenagers are facing an epidemic of lack of proper sleep. Most teens do not get the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep per night due to biological changes in their circadian rhythm making it difficult to fall asleep earlier. Not getting enough quality sleep can have negative health effects like increased risk of cardiovascular disease. While pushing back school start times could help teens get more sleep, there are also lifestyle changes they can make like exercising, limiting screen time before bed, and avoiding caffeine late in the day to influence their circadian rhythms and improve sleep.

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    of 4

    Huseboe 1

    Anna Huseboe

    Ms. Wilson

    English II Honors

    May 10th, 2019

    Teens and a Lack of Proper Sleep

    Today's teenagers are facing a critical but obscure epidemic-a deficiency of proper sleep.

    In today's age, it is becoming increasingly difficult for teenagers to get the recommended amount

    of sleep, even though it is for their health. Improper sleeping habits can cause short-term

    setbacks if done occasionally. However, this frequent pattern of adolescents not getting enough

    sleep can have disastrous effects on their health. To further compound the problem of, it is a

    widespread occurrence, with 70% of teens reporting they did not get the recommended 8-10

    hours of sleep as shown by the​ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Teenagers are faced with many mental and physical changes as they mature from

    children to adults, and one of them is a biological change in their circadian rhythm and

    production of melatonin. ​HealthWise​ in their article​ The Scientific Case for Starting High

    School Later​, state, “The biological sleep rhythms of adolescents, whose sleep-wake cycles

    begin to chirp up to two hours later at the start of puberty.” (The Scientific Case for Starting

    High School Later). This shows why teenagers have a difficult time falling asleep, their natural

    body clock feels they should still be awake and has not started to produce any melatonin.

    Without melatonin, even if a teenager was ready for bed they would not be able to fall asleep.

    Overall, this leads to the fact that even if teenagers get the hours of sleep recommended by

    doctors, those hours of sleep would not be high enough quality. In spite of all this, more
    Huseboe 2

    teenagers would get the proper amount of sleep if consequently, they could wake up later after

    falling asleep later. However, according to the ​Center for Disease Control and Prevention​, only

    17.7% of schools in the country started after 8:30 a.m., even though the​ American Academy of

    Pediatrics​ recommends that as a starting time.

    There are many health effects that can occur when over a long time the proper amount of sleep

    is not achieved. They can be anything from poor memory, increased risk of cardiovascular

    diseases or diabetes. A study done by​ Case Western Reserve University ​supports this, “The odds

    of raised blood pressure increased 3.5 times for those who had trouble falling to sleep at night or

    who woke up too early, and 2.5 times for those with sleeping periods of less than 6.5 hours,

    suggesting that inadequate sleep quality is associated with elevated blood pressure.” (June

    Thompson, Poor Teen Sleep Habits May Raise Blood Pressure). In an age where unhealthy food

    choices and a lack of exercise are prevalent, which also leads to a risk of cardiovascular diseases,

    it is imperative that all steps are taken to prevent these conditions. The best way to change a

    daily routine is to change the easiest or least important task.

    Although, there are biological mechanisms in adolescents’ bodies that make it hard to get a

    good quality sleep there are measures that can be taken to help influence teenagers circadian

    rhythms. Firstly, exercising for thirty minutes to one hour every day will help provide a night of

    good quality sleep, by wearing out the body so it knows it needs rest to heal and repair muscles.

    Secondly, set a night time routine for bed, so that while going through it your body knows to

    start producing melatonin. Because of this, once you lie in your bed you will be ready to

    immediately go to bed. The third ties into the second recommendation, only being in bed for

    sleeping will help encode into your brain, that when you are in bed it is to sleep, not to have fun,
    Huseboe 3

    read or go on your phone. This will help your brain understand that when in bed you are

    completely ready for sleep. Fourth, do not drink caffeine past noon. Caffeine is a drink that

    increases the rate of many bodily functions, which is the opposite of what the body does when

    preparing for sleep. Drinking caffeine close to bedtime will lead to a restless time trying to fall

    asleep. Finally, electronics; many research studies now show that the blue lights emitted from

    phones, laptops, TVs and other electronics prevent the release of melatonin. Because of this, it is

    best not to use any electronics at least half an hour before bed.

    Overall, teenagers have a biological reason for staying up late and waking up later, however, if

    teenagers consistently don't get enough sleep it can lead to drastic life-threatening conditions.

    Pushing school to a later time would be beneficial for teenagers, but there are many interferences

    with this. However, there are a variety of options to try from to try to influence and change

    teenage circadian rhythms.


    Huseboe 4

    Works Cited

    Bratsis, Michael E. "Health wise." ​The Science Teacher​, Dec. 2014, p. 12+. ​Academic

    OneFile,​

    http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495853554/AONE?u=ncowl&sid=AONE&xid=3824bbf1.

    Accessed 3 May 2019.

    "Teenage night owls." ​Annals of Psychotherapy and Integrative Health​, Summer

    2012, p. 8. ​Academic OneFile​,

    http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A362849435/AONE?u=ncowl&sid=AONE&xid=18f00027.

    Accessed 2 May 2019.

    Thompson, June. "Poor teen sleep habits may raise blood pressure." ​Community
    Practitioner​, vol. 81, no. 10, 2008, p. 41. ​Academic OneFile,​
    http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A186384510/AONE?u=ncowl&sid=AONE&xid=8f3bb98f.
    Accessed 2 May 2019.

    “Sleep in Middle and High School Students | Features | CDC.” ​Centers for Disease

    Control and Prevention​, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

    www.cdc.gov/features/students-sleep/index.html.

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