[Match451]

I’m a counselor that works with young folks and teenagers. A lot of them are up late (1-2am)and some all night on their phone or playing video games. This naturally leads to fatigue, poor concentration, unstable or volatile moods, bad grades and avoidance. And it’s pretty normalized among kids. When parents restrict screen time we often see big improvements in behavior and mental health, even if they aren’t up all night. Screens and social media almost never turn off among many of this generation. I’ve seen four and five year olds with their own phones and I find it pretty worrying.

[culopatin]

I remember feeling control over how much I could push my sleep time. I think it was one of the only things that I could play with that seemed to only affect me. Also at that age doing things differently seems cool too. Starting at 15 I’d go to bed at 6am and wake up at 10 or 11. My school hours were from 5pm to 10:30pm because my school was tiny and in high demand so there wasn’t enough room to put everyone in day shift. During the day I’d do small IT jobs or homework. I loved it, but I wonder now if my bad sleep is what pushed me to depression.