Are your teenagers sleeping in this summer? Good, because they need it.
If your teen is getting less than nine hours of sleep a night, they are putting themselves at risk for heart disease as adults. A new study out of California found that if your teen gets seven hours or less, then have more body fat, higher blood pressure and cholesterol. This can start as early as age 13.
One of the reasons why this increases the chances of heart disease is because lack of sleep can spur changes in appetite, making them eat more and crave unhealthy fats and sugar. It has also been linked to exercising less because they are so tired -- and teens are still having hormone changes and growth spurts which take a lot of energy.
If your teen is a night owl, that’s perfectly normal. Their levels of melatonin kick in later, around 11 p.m., which is why they like to stay up late and sleep late.
So, parents, it’s ok to let your kids sleep-in before they have mow the grass this summer.
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