CFA 2_Identifying Strong Evidence

“Sleepy Teens: A Public Health Epidemic”

For many teens battling chronic sleep loss, their go-to strategy to compensate is consuming large quantities of caffeine in the form of venti Frappuccino's, or energy drinks and shots. So essentially, we’ve got an entire population of tired but wired youth.

Advocates of sleep-friendly start times know that adolescence is a period of dramatic brain development, particularly in the parts of the brain that are responsible for those higher order thinking processes, including reasoning, problem-solving and good judgment. In other words, the very type of brain activity that’s responsible for reining in those impulsive and often risky behaviors that are so characteristic of adolescence and that are so terrifying to us parents of teenagers. They know that like the rest of us, when teenagers don’t get the sleep they need, their brains, their bodies and behaviors suffer with both immediate and lasting effects.

They can’t concentrate, their attention plummets and many will even show behavioral signs that mimic ADHD. But the consequences of teen sleep loss go well beyond the classroom, sadly contributing to many of the mental health problems that skyrocket during adolescence, including substance use, depression and suicide.