Well-balance life with MNI – Teenagers and healthy sleep patterns

Unfortunately, research suggests that teens get far less sleep than they need. This is attributed to teenagers' internal clock which makes them go to bed later, but due to a school alarm clock and daily requirements, they cannot get up later.

Sleep patterns for adulthood are established during your teens, so supporting teens with their sleep cycle is a unique opportunity for health and wellness and may even prevent possible future health issues. 

The link between sleep, concentration, and mood.

Disrupted sleep may involve difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or an alteration in the quality of sleep. This leaves the individual feeling unrefreshed, emotionally depleted, and vulnerable to the development of various mental and physical disorders.

Watch: About sleeping patterns

What is the purpose of sleep?

Metabolism is a complex biological chain reaction that fluctuates all day. Anabolism is the set of metabolic pathways that construct new molecules from smaller units mostly derived from food. While anabolism takes care of the building-up and creational aspects of metabolism, catabolism is responsible for the breaking-down and ultimate degradation of cellular components.

At night, during the sleep cycle, many of the body’s systems go into 'anabolic state', a renewal process that is essential for the restoration of the immune, skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems. These are also required to optimally maintain the function of neurons which ultimately regulate mood, memory, and cognitive function.

Of the most pronounced physiological changes that happen in the body during sleep occurs in the brain. This is because sleep allows the brain to use significantly less energy for ‘thinking’, thereby allowing it to replenish its energy supply in the form of the molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate) required for nerve transmission, neurotransmitter production, and nerve growth.

What are the consequences of poor sleep?

Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency or sleeplessness, is the condition of not having adequate sleep duration and/or quality of sleep to support your normal level of alertness and mental performance to get your hardworking brain through the next day. Sleep insufficiency can be either chronic or acute and may vary widely in severity.

Research has demonstrated that individuals with sleep deprivation problems are more likely to display decreased levels of concentration, the battle to keep their mood upbeat, and have an increased risk of developing a mood disorder or chronic pain syndrome.

Read more: About sleeping patterns

Read more: About pain and inflammation 

Why should sleep deprivation not be ignored?

Over the last thirty years, the concept that sleep serves a restorative function has gained strong scientific support from several research studies. More of these are emphasizing the key role of deep and proper sleep.

Two common symptoms of not getting enough sleep or poor sleep are fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness. But having poor or insufficient sleep also increases one’s risk of developing a mood disorder such as depression and/or anxiety. This becomes a vicious cycle as sleep becomes more disturbed in a mood disorder, the mood disorder is more resistant to treatment unless the sleep disorder is concurrently treated, and lastly, any residual untreated sleep disorder increases the risk of relapse even after successful management of the mood disorder.

SleepVance from the Medical Nutritional Institute contains a proprietary blend of ingredients and nutrients formulated to target different pathways involved in sleep quality and quantity, including optimizing hormones, neurotransmitters, and nutrients involved in regulating the sleep cycle.

What can SleepVance assist with? 

·      aids with the promotion of healthy sleep patterns

·      increases sleep quality

·      combats the daytime effects of sleep deprivation

·      It can be combined with any insomnia medication to improve sleep patterns

SleepVance and SleepVance kids are available without a prescription from any pharmacy or buy online at www.mnilifestyle.co.za

Take your SleepVance or SleepVance Kids for children ages 8-18, 2 hours before bedtime with a snack for effective absorption.

Visit www.mnilifestyle.co.za and use MNI sleep assessment to help optimise healthy sleeping patterns. 

The MNI Product Specialists are available for your support, you can contact them directly at [email protected]