Teen Sleep Crisis Getting Worse, Study Reveals Serious Impact on Mental Health

JAKARTA - Many teenagers go through the day in less fit condition due to the continuous reduction in sleep time. School assignments, additional activities, to the habit of using gadgets until late at night make their rest hours far from ideal.

In fact, lack of sleep not only causes drowsiness, but also has a serious impact on physical and mental health.

The latest study, published in the journal JAMA, revealed that adolescents who sleep less than five hours each night face a significant increase in health risks, with social factors as one of the triggers.

The report, quoted from the New York Post, said that too early school hours and late-night screen use make many teenagers consistently fail to reach the recommended sleep duration, which is eight to 10 hours per night.

Director of clinical digital behavioral health at Northwell Health, Dr. Courtney Bancroft, assessed this condition as worrying.

"The point is, there is a sleep crisis in adolescents and the situation is getting worse. This has become a serious public health emergency," said Bancroft.

Researchers analyzed data over 16 years and found the percentage of students who are sleep-deprived increased from 69 percent in 2007 to almost 77 percent in 2023.

Although the use of mobile phones is often blamed as the main cause, this study shows that teenagers who use mobile phones or tablets for less than four hours per day can still experience poor sleep quality.

Bancroft explained that daily factors also play a big role. "The shift in circadian sleep patterns in adolescents occurs when their brains begin to have a different circadian rhythm than when they were children. So, they don't start producing melatonin until around 11 p.m., which means they don't really feel sleepy until then," he said.

In addition to biological factors, long school schedules, extracurricular activities, and a dense social life also narrow adolescents' rest time.

The impact of sleep deprivation at this age has been widely documented, ranging from increased risk of depression and anxiety, cognitive dysfunction, to suicidal tendencies. These risks are not only experienced by adolescents with risky behaviors, but also those who generally lead normal lives.

Experts assess that in addition to limiting the use of gadgets before going to bed, it is also important to consider the school start time policy so that it is more in line with the biological rhythm of adolescents.