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  • This episode of DNews is brought to you by the Toyota Prius. Let's lead the way.”

  • Teenagers don't get enough sleep, because they're up late making bad decisions, right?

  • But what if it's the other way around? But could their lack of sleep lead to partying?

  • Hey everyone, julia here for DNews

  • Teenagers don't get enough sleep, some studies say almost half of American teenagers don't

  • get enough sleep. But maybe that's because they're forced into a schedule counter to

  • their biological clocks. Their internal clocks tick a little later than full grown adults.

  • They sleep longer and stay awake later. Yet thanks to early start times for high schools,

  • they often get less than 7 of their recommended 9-9 ½ hours of sleep.

  • A recent study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, suggests

  • that sleep problems in teenagers mean more than just an attitude and poor grades. Trouble

  • sleeping or not getting enough sleep strongly predicted not just alcohol use, but associated

  • problematic behaviors, like binge-drinking, driving under the influence and risky sexual

  • behavior.

  • Previous studies show a relation between sleep problems and substance abuse in high risk

  • populations, but this study controlled for that. These were kids who, for whatever reason

  • weren't sleeping enough.

  • The researchers looked at data collected from interviews and questionnaires from The National

  • Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. The data was collected in three waves,

  • 1st wave 1994 to 1995; second wave: 1996; third wave: 2001 to 2002. Controlling for

  • previous substance abuse, those sleepy high schoolers in the mid-90s, were more likely

  • to have drinking problems 6 or 7 years later.

  • The researchers found that having trouble sleeping or not getting enough sleep in the

  • 1st wave strongly predicted alcohol problems in the 2nd wave, the prediction for alcohol

  • issues in the third wave was less strong but still significant.

  • While some of sleepiness can be attributed to an unfriendly schedule, the rates of insomnia

  • and sleep issues reported in this study were about the same for adults. One in ten reported

  • chronic insomnia while three in ten report occasional insomnia. This points to a biological

  • basis for sleeping problems.

  • This isn't the first study to show a correlation between being tired and making bad decisions.

  • Studies often show not getting enough sleeps inhibits self-regulation, something teens

  • already struggle with.

  • Why do teens struggle more than the rest of us? Well mainly because their pre-frontal

  • cortex isn't fully developed yet. This part of the brain sits just behind the forehead

  • and it's important for what's calledexecutive functioning”. Things like planning, memory,

  • organization and mood. More importantly in the case of the sleepy teens, this part of

  • the brain helps you weigh the cost and benefits of your choices.

  • Studies show that a lack of sleep reduces activity in this part of the brain, this disruption

  • increases risk taking behavior. It's easy to see how poor sleep and the teenage brain

  • combine and can lead to bad decisions. Being a teenager and being sleep deprived is a double

  • whammy for the prefrontal cortex.

  • So if you're a teen, get more sleep. Seriously. If you're a parent of a teen, help them

  • get the sleep they need. You might try to talk to them about how important sleep is

  • for the developing brain. Keep them on a regular sleep schedule and cut out electronics like

  • phones and laptops before bed. It could help curb some of the more dangerous of adolescent

  • behaviors.

  • To learn more about why teenagers need more sleep or to find out why you need to sleep

  • at all, check these videos below.

  • So, throwing it back to you commenters, is partying late really that excellent? Do you

  • party because you're sleep deprived? Comment below! oh and don't forget to hit that subscribe

  • button!

  • Let us know! We can be found on the twitter @Dnews

This episode of DNews is brought to you by the Toyota Prius. Let's lead the way.”

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