How to get better sleep.

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23rd Oct 2017 12:42 (UTC)

In a recent study sourced from San Diego State University, researchers are showing that teenagers are sleeping less and less compared to previous generations. According to the source 40 percent of adolescents in the year 2015 slept less than 7 hours, which when compared with 2009 is 17 percent more and 58 percent more when compared with studies in 1991.

They showed adolescents who enjoyed going online, were more likely to report staying up until later hours in fact those who spent 5 hours a day online were 50 percent more likely to not sleep enough compared to peers who only spent 1 hour online each day, the same may be true of adults who enjoy surfing the web but there seems to be a prevalence in the new generation.

Sleep is known to repair a number of systems in the body, improve circulation and generally provide a respite for muscles and organs. The average expectancy of the human body without sleep is roughly 10-11 days before it collapses from sheer exhaustion after being subject to immense strain, so most professionals will agree that 7-9 hours of sleep per night is the expected amount for maintaining a healthy body.

Encourage your children to sleep more, explain to them the benefits of a good nights rest and the harms of staying awake all night. A suggestion might be that they do a little exercise before bed, play out or go for a walk. The smart phone, tablet and notebook era certainly coincides with the increase in late night web surfing, the availability of such a small device may be the reason these important sleep cycles are being interrupted. It is really important to limit screen time on any device and start about 2 hours before bed giving time for a walk or conversely a very relaxing hot shower or bath and a drink to prevent dehydration during the night.

The message coming out of this study, try to temper smart device  usage in the evenings and finish usage before getting into bed for a full nights sleep.