There is no question that many teenagers do reckless and risky things. Many believe that nothing will happen to them, it always happens to someone else. Then there are others that just don’t seem to care.

When I was teenager, I did a number of risky things. I rode bulls and saddle broncs. I climbed up a tree after a wild mountain lion for the thrill of it. I climbed into bear dens during the winter to help with a census count (that was early 20s). I spent 3 months alone with my dog in a desert/mountainous wilderness area and loved it. There were a number of other dangerous – risky and reckless things I did as a teen.

At the time, I had the philosophy that if I got hurt or killed, so what, at least I was doing what I wanted and having fun.

Then there was my oldest brother who NEVER did anything risky or reckless.

After reading a recent report, I can see why I may have been more risky and reckless than he was and it had to do with our sleep habits.

He always slept like a baby all night long. Me, on the other hand, have rarely slept sound an entire night. As far back as I can remember, I have had problems staying asleep. I can fall asleep fast and easy, but I can’t seem to stay asleep.

It wasn’t until my adult years that I was sent to a sleep doctor who figured out that I had 3 separate and distinct sleep disorders. The worst one, sleep apnea is the one treated, but the other two actually work against the apnea and the doctor said there is no way to address all three. I’ll never forget the day he told me and when he looked at me, apologized and said that I was ‘screwed’ with having the sleep disorders I do. For most of my life, I average about 3-4 hours of sleep over an 8-hour period, with many nights being even less.

So, what does that have to do with my being reckless and my brother not?

According to a report:

“Researchers examined a national data sample of risk-taking behaviors and sleep duration self-reported by high school students over eight years and found an association between sleep duration and personal safety risk-taking actions…”

“‘We found the odds of unsafe behavior by high school students increased significantly with fewer hours of sleep,’ said lead author Mathew Weaver, PhD, research fellow, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. ‘Personal risk-taking behaviors are common precursors to accidents and suicides, which are the leading causes of death among teens and have important implications for the health and safety of high school students nationally’.”

“Compared to students who reported sleeping eight hours at night, high school students who slept less than six hours were twice as likely to self-report using alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other drugs, and driving after drinking alcohol. They were also nearly twice as likely to report carrying a weapon or being in a fight. Researchers found the strongest associations were related to mood and self- harm. Those who slept less than six hours were more than three times as likely to consider or attempt suicide, and four times as likely to attempt suicide, resulting in treatment. Only 30 percent of the students in the study reported averaging more than eight hours of sleep on school nights.”

What can I say? Was I more reckless and risky than my brother because of our sleep patterns or were there other factors? I really can’t say, except that this report does describe the difference between the two of us.

If you have teenagers and want to help keep them healthy, successful and safer, then make sure they get enough sleep every night. Otherwise, there is no telling what they may tend to do.