A Message From an Expert
There is always a bunch of research out on the internet, and in books, however the freshest, and sometimes the best kind of information is firsthand. With that thought, we interviewed psychologist Kevin Wilson and asked him all about teen sleep deprivation.
Kevin Wilson is a LPC or a licensed professional counselor and marriage and family counselor. He works at the research and psychiatric hospital in KC, Missouri.
Kevin Wilson is a LPC or a licensed professional counselor and marriage and family counselor. He works at the research and psychiatric hospital in KC, Missouri.
| Kevin Wilson Interview |
Transcript:
John Sutherby: How much sleep do you recommend teens on weeknight and weekend nights?
Kevin Wilson: To many of my patients, I recommend 8-10 hours of sleep a night. I try to get them not just to be in their rooms when they go to bed but away from any electronics. You see when teens are texting, playing xbox, watching tv, or on their computers, the light is keeping them awake. As the device illuminates an image, the light enters the pupils and the pupils recognizing there is something to see, stimulate the brain. This means that as long as there is this illuminating screen, the child will not be able to sleep. This is why I recommend in all of my Family Meetings [meetings with my patient and their caregivers,] not to have any form of computer in the bedroom with my young people who come to the hospital and I recommend that for all families because the discipline is not there. Most of us don’t have the discipline to turn off that cell phone at 9:00 or 10:00 at night. If we get a text, we’re going to text back and that’s going to continue to stimulate the mind. So what I’m trying to do is create a calm and peaceful environment for my kids so they connect with their body. The body is very tired at this point. We demand a lot out of our body each day. So, what happens is, if we’re up late at night our body says ‘uncle’ and we end up with depression and anxiety if we’re not getting enough rest. So that’s just one of the things I talk about in my family meetings when I have these ultimate discharge planning meetings with my families when I talk about the importance of sleep.
We have a natural circadan rhythm in the body, it’s a rhythm that ultimately activates and deactivates and it tells the body when to sleep and when not to sleep. It’s activated by light. When we were in agricultural society and worked during the day and we’d get up at the crack of dawn and work outside and be outside all day and then when it got dark cicada rhythms told us we were tired and when it got tired the body ultimately started shutting down. We didn’t have TVs and cell phones and things going on at night so we’d fall asleep pretty regularly. You know, you’re required about 8-10 hours a night of rest and you’re ready to go the next day. So, to answer that question, sleep is a big part of every one of my family meetings. I’m always talking about how much rest my children get and what kind of patterns are established in the family system in terms of assisting with that very important value of rest so that when I’m faced at school with that test or bullying, and bullying goes on at school all the time as you know, cyber bullying, that type of thing takes a lot of energy for us to manage and really affects our feelings. If we don’t have the energy to manage to those feelings, those feelings manage us. That’s when we get into trouble. That’s when we start doing things that self-sooth that can sometimes be very dangerous. In other words, I’m really anxious or really depressed. I don’t know what to do with that but I know that I don’t like it so I start doing things like drinking, drugging, internet pornography. These are all ways that I’m trying to self-sooth. I’m trying to deal with these feelings of anxiety and depression, but I don’t know how to do it and I’m looking for distractions. I’m looking for ways to get away from that pain, that suffering of anxiety and depression. That make sense?
A’s Through Zzz’s: Yes. So the next question is do you think schools should move back start times to allow children to get more sleep?
Kevin Wilson: I’m not a school administrator so I’m going to qualify this. The family must be mindful of the responsibility to be ultimately engaged with what’s going to be required for my son or my daughter to be safe. So, what’s going to be required is they’re going to have to get enough rest, John. So, you have to get a good night’s rest. We need actions that help that value that it’s really important that you get enough rest.
It helps to develop habits of routine. It’s important that you have enough rest to deal with that anxiety and that, uh, pressure that the schools put on the kids.
A’s Through Zzz’s: Do you know of any sleep diseases that can affect a student that can be caused by stress and sleep deprivation?
Kevin Wilson: I don’t know of any sleep diseases, John. I know that if we don’t get enough rest that anxiety and depression are really at epidemic proportions now in our society. Hospitals have an indication of just how many young people are coming in on a daily basis and how important it is that we get our rest. Stress kills. It can cause skin problems. It can cause internal organ problems. It can cause panic attacks. When you have a panic attack you can think you’re having a heart attack. You think you’re going to die. This can happen when you’re just not getting enough rest. Now some of this, John, is bio-clinical and with a young person that I’m seeing where they’re not balanced and so they have what’s called a mood disorder. It’s going to take some extra medication and it’s not just about being able to do simple things. Those of us that are lucky enough that we’re born with a brain that regulates itself well, we’re still pretty sleep deprived and we’re seeing lots of depression, lots of anxiety based on just not enough rest.
A’s Through Zzz’s: And then are there any recurring trends you see in those that are sleep deprived?
Kevin Wilson: Physically we’ll certainly see that you can look in somebody’s eyes and you and see whether there’s energy there or there’s not energy there. A lot of times it’s just due to the stressors that’s going on at home and chaos that’s going on at home. Sometimes they don’t have a healthy family. That’s something I can’t do anything about. I can only encourage them to recognize their responsibilities.
A’s Through Zzz’s: How do you address statements that students should just push through when they are only able to get a couple of hours of sleep for a period of time?
Kevin Wilson: I have a very difficult time with the lack of empathy with that type of statement to ‘Just push through’. Yeah, I believe that sometimes we need to toughen up and just push through but man, from an adolescent standpoint, the amount of pressure that’s on your shoulders that I didn’t experience when I was a child, John. I didn’t have the technology and the incredible amount of data that’s coming through on a regular basis. Just to give you an example, when my grandparents were growing up, they would make as many decision in a lifetime as you and I would make in a day. That’s how much data we’re being exposed to now. That’s how much information is coming into our brain, from a hundred years ago until now. That may help you with a little bit with the amount of data we’re being exposed to and then to expect someone to push through when they’ve only had two hours of rest. The brain is not wired to go at the pace it’s going. I think our brains our trying to stay up to pace with the technology and it can’t stay up with it, but our brain is not disciplined. It’s always going to ask for more, John. We always want there’s never enough, whatever it is, we always want more...money, food...whatever it is, we always want more. And to ask an adolescent somehow to say, to say ‘you can just push through it’ I think that’s irresponsible and I think you have to look a lot further than just think well he should be able or she should be able to just push through it. There’s a lot more going on than meets the eye there. So, I think there’s not a simple answer here. Yea, there’s a moment there where ‘Yeah, you gotta push through’ but I think you gotta be in tune with your child and be able to understand that there’s only so much that we can possibly expect from that person each day and that’s the tough part of parenting. The hardest job on the planet is being a parent.
A’s Through Zzz’s: Do you have any suggestions or messages that you’d like to pass on to the school board, students or parents?
Kevin Wilson: The biggest thing I’d like to pass on is to pay attention to when someone says they’re being bullied. Over and over and over again, John, in our hospital we have kids that are being brutally, brutally bullied by everything from the internet to pushing to touching to all kinds of things that are going on. So, I’m pleading with the administrators that this is the real deal. We’re not just kind of making fun of this. We have kids who’ve come in who’ve tried to kill themselves because they feel so unsafe when they’re at school. So, yes, I’d like to plead with the counselors in the schools to continue working toward sensitivity groups and being inclusive and understanding that this is not about being right and it’s not about being wrong. It’s about being understood. Each of us need to feel like we’re safe in that school and we need to feel like we’re valued in that school. That environment is incredibly important, particularly if in my home I don’t feel safe and I’m not feeling understood. So, it’s a tremendous responsibility on the schools and on the administration. I’m not here to tell them how to do their job. I just ask them to continue to be incredibly sensitive with these students because it’s not going away. I’m seeing an incredible increase in the cyber bullying and the stuff that goes on in school.
A’s Through Zzz’s: All right. Thank you.
Kevin Wilson: You’re welcome.
John Sutherby: How much sleep do you recommend teens on weeknight and weekend nights?
Kevin Wilson: To many of my patients, I recommend 8-10 hours of sleep a night. I try to get them not just to be in their rooms when they go to bed but away from any electronics. You see when teens are texting, playing xbox, watching tv, or on their computers, the light is keeping them awake. As the device illuminates an image, the light enters the pupils and the pupils recognizing there is something to see, stimulate the brain. This means that as long as there is this illuminating screen, the child will not be able to sleep. This is why I recommend in all of my Family Meetings [meetings with my patient and their caregivers,] not to have any form of computer in the bedroom with my young people who come to the hospital and I recommend that for all families because the discipline is not there. Most of us don’t have the discipline to turn off that cell phone at 9:00 or 10:00 at night. If we get a text, we’re going to text back and that’s going to continue to stimulate the mind. So what I’m trying to do is create a calm and peaceful environment for my kids so they connect with their body. The body is very tired at this point. We demand a lot out of our body each day. So, what happens is, if we’re up late at night our body says ‘uncle’ and we end up with depression and anxiety if we’re not getting enough rest. So that’s just one of the things I talk about in my family meetings when I have these ultimate discharge planning meetings with my families when I talk about the importance of sleep.
We have a natural circadan rhythm in the body, it’s a rhythm that ultimately activates and deactivates and it tells the body when to sleep and when not to sleep. It’s activated by light. When we were in agricultural society and worked during the day and we’d get up at the crack of dawn and work outside and be outside all day and then when it got dark cicada rhythms told us we were tired and when it got tired the body ultimately started shutting down. We didn’t have TVs and cell phones and things going on at night so we’d fall asleep pretty regularly. You know, you’re required about 8-10 hours a night of rest and you’re ready to go the next day. So, to answer that question, sleep is a big part of every one of my family meetings. I’m always talking about how much rest my children get and what kind of patterns are established in the family system in terms of assisting with that very important value of rest so that when I’m faced at school with that test or bullying, and bullying goes on at school all the time as you know, cyber bullying, that type of thing takes a lot of energy for us to manage and really affects our feelings. If we don’t have the energy to manage to those feelings, those feelings manage us. That’s when we get into trouble. That’s when we start doing things that self-sooth that can sometimes be very dangerous. In other words, I’m really anxious or really depressed. I don’t know what to do with that but I know that I don’t like it so I start doing things like drinking, drugging, internet pornography. These are all ways that I’m trying to self-sooth. I’m trying to deal with these feelings of anxiety and depression, but I don’t know how to do it and I’m looking for distractions. I’m looking for ways to get away from that pain, that suffering of anxiety and depression. That make sense?
A’s Through Zzz’s: Yes. So the next question is do you think schools should move back start times to allow children to get more sleep?
Kevin Wilson: I’m not a school administrator so I’m going to qualify this. The family must be mindful of the responsibility to be ultimately engaged with what’s going to be required for my son or my daughter to be safe. So, what’s going to be required is they’re going to have to get enough rest, John. So, you have to get a good night’s rest. We need actions that help that value that it’s really important that you get enough rest.
It helps to develop habits of routine. It’s important that you have enough rest to deal with that anxiety and that, uh, pressure that the schools put on the kids.
A’s Through Zzz’s: Do you know of any sleep diseases that can affect a student that can be caused by stress and sleep deprivation?
Kevin Wilson: I don’t know of any sleep diseases, John. I know that if we don’t get enough rest that anxiety and depression are really at epidemic proportions now in our society. Hospitals have an indication of just how many young people are coming in on a daily basis and how important it is that we get our rest. Stress kills. It can cause skin problems. It can cause internal organ problems. It can cause panic attacks. When you have a panic attack you can think you’re having a heart attack. You think you’re going to die. This can happen when you’re just not getting enough rest. Now some of this, John, is bio-clinical and with a young person that I’m seeing where they’re not balanced and so they have what’s called a mood disorder. It’s going to take some extra medication and it’s not just about being able to do simple things. Those of us that are lucky enough that we’re born with a brain that regulates itself well, we’re still pretty sleep deprived and we’re seeing lots of depression, lots of anxiety based on just not enough rest.
A’s Through Zzz’s: And then are there any recurring trends you see in those that are sleep deprived?
Kevin Wilson: Physically we’ll certainly see that you can look in somebody’s eyes and you and see whether there’s energy there or there’s not energy there. A lot of times it’s just due to the stressors that’s going on at home and chaos that’s going on at home. Sometimes they don’t have a healthy family. That’s something I can’t do anything about. I can only encourage them to recognize their responsibilities.
A’s Through Zzz’s: How do you address statements that students should just push through when they are only able to get a couple of hours of sleep for a period of time?
Kevin Wilson: I have a very difficult time with the lack of empathy with that type of statement to ‘Just push through’. Yeah, I believe that sometimes we need to toughen up and just push through but man, from an adolescent standpoint, the amount of pressure that’s on your shoulders that I didn’t experience when I was a child, John. I didn’t have the technology and the incredible amount of data that’s coming through on a regular basis. Just to give you an example, when my grandparents were growing up, they would make as many decision in a lifetime as you and I would make in a day. That’s how much data we’re being exposed to now. That’s how much information is coming into our brain, from a hundred years ago until now. That may help you with a little bit with the amount of data we’re being exposed to and then to expect someone to push through when they’ve only had two hours of rest. The brain is not wired to go at the pace it’s going. I think our brains our trying to stay up to pace with the technology and it can’t stay up with it, but our brain is not disciplined. It’s always going to ask for more, John. We always want there’s never enough, whatever it is, we always want more...money, food...whatever it is, we always want more. And to ask an adolescent somehow to say, to say ‘you can just push through it’ I think that’s irresponsible and I think you have to look a lot further than just think well he should be able or she should be able to just push through it. There’s a lot more going on than meets the eye there. So, I think there’s not a simple answer here. Yea, there’s a moment there where ‘Yeah, you gotta push through’ but I think you gotta be in tune with your child and be able to understand that there’s only so much that we can possibly expect from that person each day and that’s the tough part of parenting. The hardest job on the planet is being a parent.
A’s Through Zzz’s: Do you have any suggestions or messages that you’d like to pass on to the school board, students or parents?
Kevin Wilson: The biggest thing I’d like to pass on is to pay attention to when someone says they’re being bullied. Over and over and over again, John, in our hospital we have kids that are being brutally, brutally bullied by everything from the internet to pushing to touching to all kinds of things that are going on. So, I’m pleading with the administrators that this is the real deal. We’re not just kind of making fun of this. We have kids who’ve come in who’ve tried to kill themselves because they feel so unsafe when they’re at school. So, yes, I’d like to plead with the counselors in the schools to continue working toward sensitivity groups and being inclusive and understanding that this is not about being right and it’s not about being wrong. It’s about being understood. Each of us need to feel like we’re safe in that school and we need to feel like we’re valued in that school. That environment is incredibly important, particularly if in my home I don’t feel safe and I’m not feeling understood. So, it’s a tremendous responsibility on the schools and on the administration. I’m not here to tell them how to do their job. I just ask them to continue to be incredibly sensitive with these students because it’s not going away. I’m seeing an incredible increase in the cyber bullying and the stuff that goes on in school.
A’s Through Zzz’s: All right. Thank you.
Kevin Wilson: You’re welcome.
