Study: Teens who do not sleep enough have consequences of learning and behavior

Experts say these are disturbing data, since increasingly detailed studies show that sleep deprivation has negative effects on their health, especially on learning and behavior. The new study published in Lancet Child & Adolescent Medicine followed 8,323 children between the ages of nine and 10 for two years, divided into two groups. Those sleeping at least nine hours a night and those sleeping less. The results show that the latter tend to have cognitive difficulties such as processing information, memory, and behavioral difficulties. Researchers were then able to link these problems to specific structural anomalies identified through magnetic resonance image.

“analytes observed in children who do not sleep enough are typical of lack of sleep even in adults”, comments one of the researchers.

They have to do with that region of the brain involved in fixing the sleep-street rhythm, responsible for the most sophisticated cognitive functions. Lancet's study is much more than a wake - up, for it confirms that youth sleep deprivation causes cognitive and behavioral problems and reveals a long - term effect on brain structure.

The lack of sleep has been associated with a number of health problems, including physical health conditions such as high blood pressure and obesity and mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression. Among young people, sleep deprivation has been associated with poor academic performance and increased emotional problems and behavior”, the study says.

The American Sleep Medicine Academy recommends that children and teenagers aged 6-12 should sleep at least 9 hours a day. Given that adolescence is an especially important period of nervous development, insufficient sleep during this development period is likely to lead to long - term difficulties.