It’s About Life

This post is dedicated to a wonderful young man named Kashief  Cross, who was taken from this world much too soon. Kashief and his friend Eric died as a result of a tragic accident which occurred at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, February 13th. The cause of the accident has not been determined. Kashief, you were an inspiration to those of us who knew you and were blessed to have you in our lives. You are dearly loved.

We all do it. We get so busy with living that we forget to stop when we get tired to allow our bodies time to rest. We try to fill every moment with activity. In my case, my husband tells me that I always cram too much into my day. Maybe so. I do seem to want to do everything at once!!!! It’s often difficult to put an activity off till later.

Please. Let’s make a commitment to ourselves. Let’s make a commitment to our loved ones. When we are tired we need to stop and rest.

Did you know that:

• sleep deprivation increases the risk for diabetes and heart attacks
• there is an increase in obesity due to lack of sleep
• lack of sleep increases the risk for breast cancer and hypertension

Our children are inheriting our bad habits. Teenagers, who need between 9-9.5 hours of sleep per night, often have a difficult time getting enough rest. Sometimes our kids are so busy with sports and other extra-curricular activities and they still wake up at the crack of dawn.Teenagers and young adults also often have difficulty falling asleep at night. They experience changes in their sleep patterns as a result of the changes which are occurring in their growing bodies.

My experience has shown that when teenagers get adequate sleep, their behavior improves dramatically. They are less anxious and moody and they perform better at school and sports.  Every parent worries about their kid’s driving performance. How many young people do you know that have been killed or severely injured in a car accident which could have been avoided?

According to the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), “The vast majority of these crashes are attributable to a combination of driver inexperience, coupled with one or more of the five major risks facing teen drivers (driving at night, distractions such as cell phones and other young passengers, speeding, not using seat belts, and drinking and driving).” Approximately 20% of road deaths are believed to be caused by sleep deprivation and approximately half of these deaths are of kids between 16 and 25.

In Texas, there is a wonderful program available for teens called Teens in the Driver Seat. Since the program’s inception, “the teen driver fatal crash rate has dropped faster and more steadily in Texas than in any other state.” If you have a teenager at home, please encourage him/her to participate in this program. It’s a wonderful peer-to-peer program that is 100% managed by the teens themselves. I will make myself available to help any teenager who wants to get this program started by helping them connect with the wonderful folks at TTI.

It’s about Life. Please stop and think. If you’re tired, REST.

Sources for this story:

http://www.naturalnews.com/024490_sleep_teenagers_deprivation.html

http://tti.tamu.edu/group/cts/groups/teens-in-the-driver-seat/