Speakers: Justin Ratcliffe, Mark Worden and Rachel Roberts (Standard British accent)

We all do it! But do we get enough sleep?
It’s official. Teenagers need more sleep than their parents.
According to sleep experts, people aged between 10 and 17 need to sleep between 8.5 and 9.25 hours each night.

THE MIDNIGHT HOUR

Are you tired at the moment? What time did you go to bed last night? Have you ever fallen asleep at work or at school? Recent research shows that 25 per cent of the UK population suffers from some sort of sleep disorder and two-thirds of British children may be sleep-deprived.
To get nine hours’ sleep, a teenager needs to go to bed at about 10 p.m. during the school week. However, many young people watch TV till around midnight and then play computer games till late into the night. Teachers in Scotland now give lessons on the importance of sleep to their teenage pupils.

HELP!

But sleep isn’t only a problem for teenagers. Here are some complaints by people of all ages:
“I share a room with my older brother. He snores! It’s really annoying!”
Clyde – aged 16

“I have an eight-month-old baby and a three-year-old so I don’t get much sleep at the moment. Last night I think I had about five hours, as the baby woke up three times. I work during the day and it can be difficult to stay awake when I haven’t slept much.”
Clare – aged 35

“I have a strange habit of falling asleep when I watch the television and it usually happens when it’s something I am really interested in! The television seems to hypnotise me and I doze off really easily. Then when I go upstairs to bed I find I can’t sleep and I usually listen to the radio for hours and hours during the night.”
Philip – aged 64

“I’m a teacher and sometimes in the classes after lunch the students look as if they are about to fall asleep. They yawn a lot and look quite exhausted! Some people say that maybe school should start later for teenagers. I think they may be right.”
Jag – aged 29