The matter in summary Researcher Erik Grasaas at the University of Agder has studied sleep habits among Norwegian youth and found a strong connection between sleep quantity and quality of life. The research article shows that three out of four sleep less than the recommended eight hours. Sleep problems affect both physical, psychological, social and emotional development, and Grasaas believes this is a public health problem. Psychologist Ragnhild Bang Nes confirms that sleep quality has a major impact on emotional life and quality of life. Screen time is an important reason why young people sleep less, according to over 60 per cent of those questioned in the study. The time it takes to fall asleep has increased from fifteen minutes to over an hour over the past 20 years, which also contributes to less sleep. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – We see a strong connection between how much young people sleep and how satisfied they are with life. This applies to both boys and girls, says Erik Grasaas. Graasaas researches, among other things, young people and sleep at the University of Agder (UiA). Sleep researcher Erik Grasaas at the University of Agder. Photo: UiA He recently published a research article that looks at sleep habits among upper secondary school students. The figures show that Norwegian youth sleep too little. It affects the quality of life. Not surprised This applies even when taking into account a number of factors such as stress, age, screen time and socio-economic status. – Sleep affects all processes in the body, from memory and learning to the development of the nervous system and physical form. Not least sleep affects your energy level in everyday life, says Grasaas. At KKG in Kristiansand, the students have just taken the step from summer to everyday school mode. The students are not surprised by the recent figures. – I often sleep seven hours or less. I often get tired at school and lie on the desk, says Lovise Wilkinson. Several people do that. – There are many, many people who sleep in class, or just lie on their desk in a way, says Iva Ingersol. – That sometimes someone in the class takes a nap if there is a boring subject or something, says Jesper Kristensen Lundgren. Public health problem Erik Grasaas has used the national survey Ungdata to study the sleep habits of upper secondary school students, i.e. young people between the ages of 16 and 19. Over 30,000 young people have responded to the survey. Sleep researcher Erik Grasaas at the University of Agder. Photo: Espen Bierud / news – Three out of four Norwegian upper secondary students simply sleep less than the recommended eight hours. Of course, that worries me. – Is this a public health problem? – Absolutely. Sleep in general is important for physical, mental, social and emotional development, says Grasaas. Ten pieces of advice from ung.no for better sleep: Reduce your intake of energy drinks, coffee, cola or other caffeinated drinks throughout the day, and especially avoid them after 17. Get up at the same time every day, even when you have time off from school/work. If you are unable to follow this advice, you should in any case not get up more than 2 hours later than you normally do. Limit sleep during the day. If you choose to sleep during the day, it should be a nap of a maximum of 20 minutes and not late in the day. If you struggle to fall asleep, you can try to completely cut out sleeping during the day. Daylight in the morning is important so that the brain can understand when it is day and when it is night. Use a blue light filter on mobile and PC in the evening. Exercise and physical activity make you sleep better, but avoid exercise shortly before bedtime. Don’t look at the clock at night. Put away social media, games and activities that make you more awake when you go to sleep. Use the bed only for sleep (and possibly sex). If you lie in bed for a long time without being able to sleep, you should get up again, read a book or do something else. Do not go back to bed until you are tired again. Alcohol causes poorer sleep. Many people think that alcohol helps with sleep because it makes you sleepy, but the quality of the sleep itself is poorer. Take care of yourself. Remember that sleep is affected by how you feel otherwise. If you are under a lot of stress, there are problems in the family, you are bullied or you otherwise have a hard time, it can affect your sleep. Then it is important to seek help for these things source: ung.no – Frames the quality of life Ragnhild Bang Nes is a psychologist, employed at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and has long researched what gives us joy in everyday life. She is often referred to as a “happiness researcher”. Psychologist and researcher Ragnhild Bang Nes believes that it is a public health problem that young people sleep too little. Photo: Astrid Waller Nes confirms that there is a close link between how much we sleep and our emotional life. – Sleeping little or having poor sleep quality affects our quality of life and mental health. This has been seen in various studies, including meta-investigations, she says. The psychologist and researcher wonders if it is a new trend that sleep problems are increasing among young people. When she took her doctorate in 2005, sleep problems increased with age. This is no longer the case, according to living conditions surveys and Ungdata. – Now we see that there is a clearly higher incidence among the young, i.e. those who need sleep the most, says Nes. The screen takes over The research article by Erik Grasaas at UiA points to screen time as the big sleep thief. In the article, it appears that over 60 per cent of those questioned believe that screen use is an important reason why they get too little sleep. – It is interesting that this percentage is higher among young people who sleep seven hours or less, says Grasaas. The young people also point to the screen as a “sleep thief”. Jesper Kristensen Lundgren sometimes finds it difficult to put down his mobile phone in the evening. Photo: Espen Bierud / news – I know that it can be difficult sometimes when you lie in bed with your phone, and then you get a little hooked, quite simply, says student Jesper Kristensen Lundgren. Takes an hour to fall asleep Grasaas also points to previous research literature which shows that the time to fall asleep has increased from around fifteen minutes 20 years ago to over an hour now. – It is clear that this also steals a lot of sleep for this group and is probably linked to a change in young people’s screen use, he says. The researcher believes that the responsibility lies with the young people themselves, their parents and decision-makers. He would like to see good sleep habits mentioned as part of the school curriculum under the subject Public health and coping with life. Published 02.09.2024, at 22.31
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Sleep problems among Norwegian youth affect the quality of life – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
