This month, millions of teenagers across the country will make the transition from high school to college. And between living in a new environment and the new-found freedom to attend parties and other late-night activities, getting enough sleep can be a challenge, and even a health risk, experts say.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, not getting enough sleep can even contribute to chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity and depression.
"Regular sleep is essential for your physical and mental health," wrote Dr. Carmen Burrell, medical director of the West Virginia University Student Health Service, in an email to the Gazette-Mail. "The current recommendation is seven to nine hours of sleep a night, which is not achieved by a large percentage of the population."
According to a 2009 study, 43.7 percent of people aged 18 to 25 surveyed reported unintentionally falling asleep during the day at least once during the previous month. About 5 percent of people the same age reported nodding off or falling asleep while driving.
Dr. Imran Khawaja, a professor of internal medicine at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, said a lack of sleep can cause people to have a lack of attention, poor motivation and memory that can negatively affect a student's grades.
To get enough sleep, Khawaja recommends that students make a fixed sleep schedule for themselves and stick to it. They should set a fixed time to go to sleep and to wake up in the morning, he said.
Burrell agreed.
"Good sleep hygiene can start with a simple nighttime routine to wind down," she wrote.
People should keep their cell phones, laptops and other electronics away from their bed when they're trying to sleep. Looking at bright screens can keep people awake much the same way that bright light keeps a person awake in the day time, Khawaja said.
"That has been shown, that it will affect their sleep onset," Khawaja said.
Exercising or eating too close to the time when people go to bed can also keep people awake longer, Khawaja said. People should leave a gap of at least four hours between eating or exercising and sleeping, he said.
Khawaja recommends keeping the room cool and dark when trying to sleep. If you can't sleep, he said, don't lie in bed tossing and turning.
"Generally if they're unable to sleep, don't toss and turn, go to another room and read or something," he said.
Even while taking these steps, some people have trouble sleeping, he said.
About 10 percent of kids have delayed sleep phase syndrome, which causes a person's sleep to be delayed by two or more hours past the conventional bed times, he said.
Those people often can't get to sleep until 1 a.m. or later each night.
The problem can be a big issue for students who then have to wake up for early classes, Khawaja said.
"If the kids have that, they should probably see a sleep physician to overcome this," he said.
Reach Lori Kersey at
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