It takes up more than 25 years of an average lifespan. We can go more than three times as long without food than this. It is linked to, and even controls a huge amount of basic bodily functions. When it is working well, it helps regulate our emotions, consolidate our memories, rejuvenate our bodies, and improve our immunity among countless other functions. It even helps our skin look younger and healthier. When we are deprived of it, even for a short time, anxiety and inattention worsens, energy wanes, irritability grows, and our bodily systems don’t function optimally.
I am talking about sleep. We are currently in the midst of a great sleep recession, snoozing 20% less than we did just a century ago. Our adolescents have the worst of it, on average sleeping more than an hour less per night than is ideal. There is no doubt that it is directly linked to the current epidemic of medical and psychological issues. Simply put, we’ve lost our sense of sacredness for somnolence. We have turned our bedrooms from sanctuaries of slumber into communication centers and entertainment zones. And it’s slowly killing us.
While there are a number of keys to good sleep hygiene, experts all agree there is one hugely unpopular one. We’ve got to find a way to remove the devices from our kids’ bedrooms (and our own). While rarely do parents think it’s a good thing that youth have mobile devices in the bedroom, 85-90% keep them on in or next to their bed. It’s not just sleep deprivation they’re inviting. It’s also a whole other list of unhealthy and illicit risks.
The problem is, there are countless justifications used to “defend” what we know is not good. “I use it as an alarm clock. What if an emergency happens? What if I miss out on an important snap from my friend [at 2 AM]? I need it to fall asleep.” I’ve heard all the reasons imaginable. And what I have realized is that logic alone fails to change the course. There has to be a) a clear solution to mitigate the rationalization and b) there has to be a parent(s) fully committed to prioritizing health and well-being over emotions and access. Without this, we’ll cede to what ends up being the path of least resistance. In the process, we will be sanctioning the path of most risk.
For more information about sleep, and facilitating healthy sleep habits, see the following link: https://james-schroeder.com/tag/sleep/
