Teens May Need Less Sleep
Federal guidelines recommend teens get nine hours of sleep a night, but a new study suggests more sleep can actually hurt a teen’s grades. According to the Brigham Young University study, for older teens, six to seven hours a night was plenty. The optimal amount of sleep for 12-year-olds was higher, about eight hours, while 10-year-olds did best with about nine hours. “So when (parents) read our study and find out that seven hours is really fine, then that makes them feel better about their teenagers sleep patterns,” said Eric Eide, a Brigham Young University economist. The study, the first to analyze the school performance of teens, looked at over 1,700 students.
Federal guidelines recommend teens get nine hours of sleep a night, but a new study suggests more sleep can actually hurt a teen’s grades. According to the Brigham Young University study, for older teens, six to seven hours a night was plenty. The optimal amount of sleep for 12-year-olds was higher, about eight hours, while 10-year-olds did best with about nine hours. “So when (parents) read our study and find out that seven hours is really fine, then that makes them feel better about their teenagers sleep patterns,” said Eric Eide, a Brigham Young University economist. The study, the first to analyze the school performance of teens, looked at over 1,700 students.
