Passage : Children and adolescents need approximately eight to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep every night to be at their best during the day. When they get even one hour less, they develop what is called a sleep debt. If this sleep debt becomes too substantial, children can become sleepy when they should be alert, which interferes with normal activities and reduces their ability to function properly. The lack of sleep can even increase the likelihood that children and adolescents might receive some form of accidental injury due to a slower reaction time or an inability to completely control their motor skills.
Adolescents who do not get enough sleep also perform poorly in school. Additionally, students who are tired suffer from memory lapses, behavior problems, and mood swings. They can also be viewed as either overactive and restless or lazy and sluggish. Either way, adolescents cannot perform to their fullest academic potential if they have not received the proper amount of sleep.
