Not getting enough sleep: Part 3

(NEWSCHANNEL 3) - When it comes to sleep we need an uninterrupted night of it to function properly.

But parents take note: Your kids, specifically teenagers, need a lot more.

"Instead of the seven to eight hours adults need, they need nine to ten hours," said Richard Craig of the Battle Creek Health System Sleep Center.

And when they don't get it, it costs a lot.

"Teenagers tend to develop something called 'delayed sleep phase syndrome' right around puberty," said Craig. A teenager's body clock shifts, making them fall asleep later, and while that changes, what's expected of them doesn't. They still have to get up early and get to class, where many of them just want to go back to sleep.

As adults, it's easier to fight through it.

"Children don't have those behavioral inhibitors adults do, so they tend to act out," said Craig.

You see their grades fall, their teachers see attitude issues. Meanwhile they're tired and can't help it.

"Some 40% of the children currently diagnosed for hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder, actually have some kind of sleep disorder," said Craig.

There are 85 of those classified by research, but some most often seen in the young are sleep apnea, a sleep with periods of not breathing and gasping for air.

It occurs in about two percent of children and is most common at the preschool ages.

"It's not just sleep apnea with children, though it is very common," said Craig.

There's sleep walking, bedwetting, teeth grinding and night terrors, those mid-night walking nightmares that scares parents more than the terrified child.

"They can be destructive, they don't know where they're at. They don't know who they are," said Craig.

There are signs warning you a sleep disorder could be at play. Are they consistently tough to wake up? Do they grow more irritable as the day goes on? They may fall asleep during the day, struggle in class or have a sudden drop in grades. Are they hyper? Do they sleep long periods on weekends?

"If you're snoring, if you're having any type of emotional problems, depression, anxiety, they're all being associated with being deprived of sleep," said Craig.

The longer that sleep deprivation goes unchecked, the more harmful the effects.

If you're concerned about your child ask your doctor about a sleep study.