Sleep! The simple five letter word construes an important aspect of daily lifestyle. Sleep is as essential as breathing and without it you just can't do or go about doing the daily chores of life. But the question is, just how much sleep is sufficient for youngsters, especially teenagers? To what extent does sleep help an able bodied 19 year old and could the notion of sleep depravity be a bit overrated for 19 year olds?
There are different, constantly changing vagaries of sleep needed for all of us. But a recent medical report seemed to have suggested that mere 6 hours of sleep are enough for a 19 year old.
To make things slightly complicated, teenagers have radically different sleep patterns, many missing out on the bare number of hours required to put body onto rest. But even to contend with the fact that teenagers aren't lazy and perhaps, when not seeming bored or just dormant for strange mood-swings leading to inactivity, the question of 6 hours is a vague misinterpretation of a 19 year olds physiological needs.
To put it simply, even with a relatively younger brain and healthier body set up when compared to other young adults, a 19 year old is likely to suffer from negative impact on educational and developmental processes.
My word, yes. At school, the attention span for a 19 year old suffering from sleep deprivation is likely to go down. Lack of attentiveness coupled with an indifferent attitude to classroom lectures can cause difficulties to cope up with academics.
Numerous studies have pointed in common direction: teenagers get better sleep in the afternoon. And their behaviour, concentration levels and ability to focus better improve dramatically when teenagers aren't restricted to follow their biological sleep patterns.
It's pretty simple. The idea surrounding 6 hour sleep pattern for 19 year olds is a foolhardy gumption. This won't help. In fact, it will only hamper the social, emotional and other aspects of progress for a 19 year old.
A simple mantra- sleep more, improve mind and health. The whole '6 hours of sleep are enough for 19 year olds' is a flawed idea. It doesn't necessarily mean that if you're young then you can make do with lesser sleep. Anywhere in excess of 7 hours of sleep is a pre-requisite for a teenagers' good health and progress.
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