The teenage years are a time of new and exciting experiences, including falling in love for the first time. During these years, the adolescent brain is going through a period of growth and development involving the reward system, which is the way the brain is able to motivate behavior. During the period of these age-related…
Busy adults are quite familiar with the effects of sleep deprivation, but did you know that sleep deprivation in teenagers is a serious problem? While it may seem like teenagers tend to sleep more than any other age group, today’s teens are actually plagued by a lack of quality rest.
Parents across the U.S. are understandably concerned about the possibility that their children will get involved in some form of drug abuse. While worries may center on teenagers, you may also wonder if your pre-teen child has any significant risk for drug abuse. Nationwide figures indicate that drug use at this age is somewhat common,…
Non-alcoholic beer might sound like a godsend — it has the look and smell of beer, and no alcohol equals no worries, right? But is there alcohol in non-alcoholic beer? And, how might that impact a teenager in recovery?
Anxiety, worry and nervousness are normal, healthy and useful feelings in appropriate doses and at appropriate times. We all need to feel a little nervous about getting too close to the edge of a cliff, for example. Fear of falling and dying would be absolutely justified in this context, and our anxiety about that possibility…
In a newly released full report, Virginia’s Child Fatality Review Team (CFRT) found that 26 teen overdose deaths that occurred in the state between 2009 and 2013 were fully preventable. The state’s CFRT studied the issue in response to the increase in overdose deaths throughout the state and across age groups. The number of deaths…
Researchers from the Nationwide Children’s Hospital have recently discovered that the number of children younger than 6 years old exposed to marijuana is rising. Results from their study, published online in the journal Clinical Pediatrics in June 2015, showed a 147.5% increase in marijuana exposure among those under the age of 6 between 2006 and…
With so many approaches to tackling the problem of addiction in teens and adults, finding the most appropriate modality can be challenging. Psychodrama for addiction might not sound like a serious approach to the issue, because there is a temptation to dismiss it as “play-acting.” However, for teens in particular, the methods employed in psychodrama…
Compared to recent generations, teenagers today are increasingly less likely to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or abuse several kinds of drugs and medications. Still, teens all across the country continue to develop serious substance problems, up to and including addiction. For a number of reasons, substance treatment facilities must find ways to tailor their programs…
Teenagers are notoriously long sleepers, and rightly so: their developing minds and bodies require plenty of rest. But sometimes busy schedules and other health concerns can lead to sleep deprivation. There is a correlation between a lack of sleep and anxiety, so being able to recognize sleep deprivation and knowing how to remedy it can…