HHS HealthBeat (June 10, 2009)

Sleepy teens

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Teenagers have a lot of decisions to make – juggling school assignments, family, friends, and the rest of their lives. It takes what researchers call executive function – basically, the mental capacity to make plans.

But a study finds teens who feel sleepy may be at an executive function disadvantage. Susan Redline of Case Western’s School of Medicine and her colleagues examined data on 236 teenagers.

[Susan Redline speaks] "Children who reported increased daytime sleepiness had greater trouble performing tasks that required planning and organizational skills."

Redline says teens need to listen to their bodies – and get good, regular sleep for about 9 hours a night in a dark room with the electronics off.

The study in the journal Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: June, 10 2009