Expert: Ryan Hale - 2/24/2010

Question
Hi,
actually on 2/22/10 you answered my question about increasing height. There you recommended me to get plenty of sleep. But actually i think i dont get enough sleep. Because in the past i used to sleep for 6 hours/day. But from september 2009 i reduced my sleep time to 5 hours or less since my exam was near. But now, since my exam is going on i have to study more and i sleep for 4/4.5 hours/day. Actually yesterday i slept for 3 hours. Now my question is if i keep this going on for next 20 days will it harm me much? And after my exam i will get enough time to sleep, so after then how long will you recommend to sleep? In plain english how long a teen should sleep to keep himself healty?
Shoaib
P.S. I am 15 years 7 months old.

Answer
Shoaib- keeping up a whacky sleep schedule can work for a while, but it may be difficult to get back into a normal sleep pattern.  I doubt it will effect you, but the effects of diet and sleep accumulate.  In other words, they add up over time (in the same way a pizza won't make you fat, but a pizza a day for a tear will).  The lack of sleep won't effect you noticeably over the next few weeks, but a habit over months and years will.  Teens need much more sleep than we used to think they needed.  They are also on a different sleep rhythm than adults and tend to not be morning people and can stay focused later at night.  The problem is, if you stay up until 2 a.m. and have to get up at 6 or 7 a.m. it can be a problem.  Ideally, you'd be able to sleep until 11 a.m. but most schools and jobs start before that.  You really need 7 to 9 hours of sleep and the more the better.