Teens are increasingly unhappy these days.
Yeah… I know… teens are always unhappy… but seriously, it’s becoming a mental health crisis.
I just read about a study in a Psychology Today article that looked into the reasons why.
What activities promote a happy, healthy attitude in our children? Which activities make them depressed?
The answers were interesting – some obvious, some less obvious – and they’re useful to know, because they obviously apply to us adults, too.
There was even one specific activity that made such a huge difference in mental and emotional health that, if you did just that one thing, you’d automatically be happier and healthier.
Not surprisingly, teens who spend most of their time staring at their phones and browsing social media are the least happy.
The “social” interaction they get from online activities just isn’t the same as face-to-face interaction.
We’re social creatures, after all, and we require social interaction to be happy.
Exercise was number 3 on the list.
Teens who get regular exercise are much happier and healthier, of course.
But, social interaction and exercise are *far* off in second and third place from…
Sleep.
There’s no comparison between sleep and any of the other factors.
No matter what else a kid does, or doesn’t do, in their life…
If they get less than 7 hours of sleep each night, they are depressed and unhealthy.
Simple as that: Better sleep = better health (mentally, physically, emotionally).
And, of course, this applies to you as well.
If you want to improve your mood, your health, your energy levels and be just plain happier…
Then making sure you’re getting plenty of sleep is the fastest, easiest way to do all of that.