Sleep is when your body is resting, conserving energy, for a long amount of time. Sleep is a natural state of the body that an individual goes through daily. During your 8-10 hours of sleep your internal organs are working, but your five senses aren’t as alert and aware of your surroundings.
Why do children between the ages of 10-16 need 8-10 hours of sleep? At this age, while we are going through changes, sleep is helpful in so many ways. When we are asleep our body is growing, we’re getting taller, our hair is growing, our nails are growing and our body is relaxing. When we’re sleep deprived , we may feel the need to eat more which can lead to weight gain.
When we’re sick , sleep can help our body heal, whether we have a cough or a flu. If sleep is cut short, which isn’t good most of the time, the body doesn’t have time to complete all of the phases needed for muscle repair. When we wake up our mind isn’t prepared to concentrate, make decisions or interact in school and social activities.
If we don’t get enough sleep it can affect our day in a bad way. We get tired during school and don’t complete our tasks. We become angry instantly, take it out on the people that surround us, then cause trouble with others. Sleep affects the way we look, feel and perform on a daily basis. So sleep can help us get through a long hard day, that is full of learning, at school.
You have an internal "body clock" that controls when you're awake and when your body is ready for sleep. The rhythm affects every cell, tissue, and organ in your body and how they work. If we are sleep deprived, due to a short amount of sleep, it may cause mental, physical and health problems.
So our body is growing and healing. It also gives us a positive attitude towards everything we do, mainly toward school, which can help us achieve our life goals. If you don’t get enough sleep, you may not feel refreshed and alert when you wake up. In conclusion it’s important for children between the age of 10-16 to get at least 8-10 hours of sleep mainly because we are growing and going through changes.