Teenagers are often careless about their own health and that includes sleeping habits, for example. After all, who doesn't know a young man between the ages of 12 and 17 who is always willing to stay up all night? What they don't know is that there are many harms to this habit, as shown by this new study that analyzes the brains of teenagers who sleep late.
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How lack of sleep affects teenagers' brains
Sleep is of fundamental importance for the lives of all human beings, but it has a greater effect on children and adolescents, since they are in the development phase. But few teenagers understand this importance and sleep little, which can be very harmful for the brain.
According to this research published in Journal of Child and Psychiatry, there is more danger in sleep deprivation in teenagers than we realize. This is because it was possible to notice that the white matter of the brain of an adolescent who sleeps little develops in a smaller proportion than those who sleep regularly.
With this, the researchers suggest that sleep deprivation is one of the main factors capable of making the teenager feel less mentally prepared. Not to mention that even the mood of constant irritation can be one of the factors that suffers the most impact from the few hours of sleep.
Therefore, this study is a way to understand why adolescents are more likely to break the rules, develop antisocial behavior and even be more aggressive. Furthermore, it was not possible to identify how this could affect cases of anxiety, for example.
How technology disrupts teen sleep
Through the research it was also possible to understand that one of the factors that most induce young people of this generation to sleep little is technology. After all, the screens of electronic devices have great effects on the production of dopamine, which is the hormone responsible for regulating sleep.
As we all know, teenagers tend to be more attracted to cell phones, computers and televisions. But studies show that this habit can be extremely dangerous, especially for teenagers who need more rest time for more brain development.