Research indicates that moderate weekend sleep catch-up, less than two hours more than usual, can alleviate anxiety in teenagers. However, excessive oversleeping or no extra sleep may worsen anxiety symptoms. Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule and limiting screen time are crucial for promoting teen mental wellbeing. For teenagers, sleep is often the first thing sacrificed in busy weekday schedules filled with school, homework, and screens. Too little or too much sleep variability from the weekday to the weekend may contribute to the symptoms someone is trying to combat, like mental fatigue and anxiety. Teens who didn’t get extra sleep on weekends, as well as those who overslept by more than two hours, had higher levels of anxiety. But those who managed to get just a bit more rest, between one and two hours, reported feeling calmer and more emotionally balanced. Oversleeping on weekends—more than two hours past a teen’s wake-up time can throw off their circadian rhythm. This leads to something called “social jetlag,” where the body’s sleep-wake cycle becomes desynchronized.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Teen Anxiety And Sleep Why Sleeping In On Weekends Helps But Only Up To A Point
