Too many teenagers are damaging their health by not getting enough sleep and by falling asleep with electrical gadgets on, researchers say.

A third of 12 to 16-year-olds asked slept for between four to seven hours a night. Experts recommend eight hours.

The Sleep Council, which conducted the poll of 1,000 teenagers, says gadgets in bedrooms such as computers and TVs are fueling poor quality “junk sleep”.

In fact, many experts recommend even more sleep: about 9 and 1/4 hours for a teen. And all seem to agree that removing TVs, computers, phones, and other gadgets is a critical first step.

The one social factor that researchers agree is consistently linked to longer lives in every country where it has been studied is education. It is more important than race; it obliterates any effects of income.

And, health economists say, those factors that are popularly believed to be crucial — money and health insurance, for example, pale in comparison.

What may make the biggest difference is keeping young people in school. A few extra years of school is associated with extra years of life and vastly improved health decades later, in old age.

According to behavioral experts, adolescents generally need eight to nine hours’ sleep each night, beginning around 11 p.m., when most start feeling drowsy. Ideally, then, most students wouldn’t awaken until about 7:30 a.m — about the time most on Long Island are expected to arrive at first-period classes.

There’s a body of research on the impact of sleep and learning. Still, there is resistance to change and concerns about the impact of shifting schedules: “Sixty-five percent of students favored keeping the bell schedule the way it is. Many predicted that a change would make it more difficult to hold after-school jobs, or to participate in clubs and sports.”

Here are some things you can do:

Give permission for them to obtain a license;
Control access to the vehicle;
Set family restrictions and punishments for infractions;
Assure that the vehicle is safe;
Be a driving instructor and supervisor or provide driving lessons;
Serve as a role model for safe driving.

A child with ADHD may have a very hard time getting along with siblings, friends, and classmates. Learning can be very difficult for an untreated ADHD child, and their impulsiveness can lead to physical danger.

Of course, you have to see a pediatrician to get a diagnosis. The good news is there are quite a few effective treatment options.

Because scientists have learned so much about ADHD through
ongoing research, the treatment of ADHD is more effective than
ever before for the majority of children. There is no specific cure,
but there are many treatment options that pediatricians can tailor
for your child.

Your child may not (yet) be doing all-nighters, but the study “suggests that just as sleep is important for consolidating new memories after they’re learned, as other studies have shown, it’s equally important for preparing the brain to learn new things the following day.”

A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says free and unstructured play is healthy and – in fact – essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones as well as helping them manage stress and become resilient.

At TeamUP! Tutors, we’ve long counseled parents of pre-schoolers to send their children outside to play rather than gain an early advantage in reading and arithmetic. At the same time, home tutoring is a way to relieve some structure and, for many children, is a way to avoid some of the stress of homework.

The message is powerful and true – though it isn’t “news” so you won’t see it on TV. The insurance company, Allstate, has a series of ads that are part of its Advocacy Campaign. They also have a novel program aimed to helping teens become safer drivers.

Consider this scary stat from their site: “Last year in the United States – and every year for the past decade – nearly 6,000 teenagers were killed in motor vehicle crashes and another 300,000 were injured.”