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Failure of having at least seven hours of sleeps causes teens to engage in risky behavior such as drinking alcohol, going to nightclub party with their peers, and not wearing seatbelts when driving. United States health officials reported that teenagers are riskier when they don't have enough sleep than those who don't.

According to Anne Wheaton, "The failure of most high school students to get sufficient sleep may put them at increased risk for unintentional injuries." Wheaton is the lead researcher of the study and an epidemiologist at the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to CBS News.

Research also discovered that teenagers who slept more than 10 hours are also prone to do risky behavior. "We have known all along that sleep deprivation and too much sleep are problems and cause accidents," said Dr. Alon Avidan. Avidan is the director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center in Los Angeles.

Avidan added, "It's not the sleep deprivation, per se, but it's the risks associated with the sleep deprivation that are putting adolescents at risk for injury."

Teenagers who sleep a lot may also be sleep deprived as this behavior is often regarded as their attempt to cope with lost sleep. Studies also discovered too much sleep can increase a greater risk for depression and other mental condition.

The CDC researchers search for the connection between self-reported sleep duration and injury-related risk behaviors on an average school night. It included occasionally using safety gears when riding a bike, wearing a seatbelt, and texting while driving.

According to Wheaton, "We found that students who reported sleeping seven hours or less were more likely to report each of these injury-related risk behaviors, compared with students who slept nine hours."

Lack of sleeping pattern among teenager can cause a variety of factors like late-night TV watching, and video game playing. Having light exposure can delay falling asleep by as much as one hour, according to Avidan.

The American Academy of Pediatrics proposes a formal recommendation that schools should start later so the teenagers can have enough sleep due to some information that insufficient sleep can cause academic and behavior trouble, according to Time.

Recent news from Time, several school districts are following the recommendation so the teenager can get more sleep. It also acknowledges that most of the teens need more sleep those others. Lack if sleeping pattern can also be a sign of something else like having sleeping disorder or even depression.