As a college student I can say that I love to sleep. Anytime I get the chance to catch a couple z's I take full advantage of it. This is why it seems very peculiar to me that approximately sixty percent of college students get less then the recommended eight hours of sleep. What could they really be doing that is more important then getting a goodnight's sleep? .
Most people don't realize that the problem is that teenagers simply cannot wake-up that early without enduring health problems. The reason is because of melatonin which is a hormone that induces sleep and tells the body when to go to sleep. But in teenagers, the melatonin does not appear until ten thirty to eleven thirty at night. Because of this later surge of melatonin, teenagers cannot fall asleep until later in the evening making it more difficult to get up for early classes. (Lamberg 1).
It may seem obvious that stress leads to sleep deprivation. The reasoning behind this, however, may not be as obvious for teenagers. Teenagers, it appears become more sensitive to the stimulating effects of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRP) which is a stress releasing hormone. When both young and middle-aged men were administered CRH, the younger men remained awake longer and slept less deeply. As Cate described, "This increased prevalence may, in fact, be associated with increased sensitivity to arousal-producing stress hormones, such as CRH and cortisol," (5).
Sleep deprivation can cause many serious negative side effects to teenagers" already hurried lives. These side effects can range from such common problems as sleepiness during the day to more serious problems, such as headaches and even death. (Dahl 1) After a bad night of sleep I know I have spent countless classes struggling to keep my eyes open. .
The many effects of sleep deprivation are generally placed into four categories. Sleepiness; tiredness; negative effects on mood, attention, and behavior; and exaggerated impact on problems, both emotionally and behaviorally.