In a recent Scientific American Study, results show enforcing a "bedtime" could be extremely important in your child's mental health. The link at the bottom has the full story, but take a look at this small excerpt:
"Columbia University scientists found that depression was 24 percent more common in teens whose parents let them go to bed at midnight or later than in kids whose moms and dads required them to hit the pillow by 10 p.m. The night owls were also 20 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts."
Middle School is already scary enough and as middle schoolers change, their hormones and body chemicals change too. This causes them to have mood swings (remember that age?!) and a harder time to keep steady with their moods and focus. This study shows that lack of sleep just adds more on top of these already difficult times and makes depression or suicidal thoughts an even bigger possibility. As a counselor, this scares me, but I have to admit that I see some of this first hand every year. I do some informal questioning of my students about bedtimes and sleep amounts and it does seem to show that the less sleep a student gets, the more likely it is that I will see them about possible depression, large mood swings, or even suicidal thoughts during the year.
So, as the school year starts, give this study a quick read and maybe even discuss the contents with your children and discuss why a good night's sleep is important, not just for those ITBS weeks, but for their own mental health during the year.
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