Boarding Schools for Girls

It has been estimated that we spend 25 years of our lives sleeping. It sounds like a lot, but it's necessary. Getting adequate sleep improves both our physical and mental conditions. Because they are still growing, teenagers need an average of nine hours of sleep each night -- and failing to get enough sleep has been associated with teen depression and thoughts of suicide.

A Jan. 13 Contra Costa Times article by Tom McMahon provided the following suggestions for helping to ensure that your teen is getting enough sleep:

• Reading before bedtime is a good way to transition into sleep.
• Teens sleep better in cool, quiet and dark rooms.
• Encourage your teens to catch up on sleep on the weekends.
• Exercise daily.
• Do not allow any caffeine or sugar after 5 p.m.

"Explain to your teen the benefits of sleeping an hour or two more than usual," McMahon advised. "[When well rested] you become energized and happier, more alert and creative, and you can concentrate better on a project, you accomplish more, you feel better and you will be refreshed and perform more efficiently."

Labels: parenting, sleep, mental health, depression

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Many people turn to junk food when theyre feeling anxious or sad -- a familiar practice for many women and teen girls . But a new study out of Australia has found that unhealthy food could increase  not decrease  feelings of anxiety and depression in women.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne found that mood disorders were more common among women aged 20 to 93 who, over 10 years, ate primarily processed, refined, high-fat foods. &

When they assessed how diet might relate to mood disorders, they found that a "Western" diet  eating primarily hamburgers, white bread, pizza, chips, flavored milk drinks, beer, and sugar-laden foods  was associated with a 50 percent greater likelihood for depressive disorders. (Source: Reuters)

The team reviewed diet and mental health information for over 1,000 women, and found that 121 had depressive and/or anxiety disorders. High instances of depression and anxiety were consistent even when the study results were adjusted for factors such as age, weight, social and economic status and physical activity.

Labels: nutrition, mental health, depression, junk-food

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In an article that appeared in the Sept. 30 edition of the Chicago Tribune, Joanna Broder explored the risk of violence and depression among girls and women in Illinois:

A report released earlier this month found that many girls in Chicago and Illinois "face serious violence in their lives," including physical and sexual abuse, threats and injury in school, and assault on the streets.

The report, "Status of Girls in Illinois," notes that 10.7 percent of girls in Chicago's high schools skipped school in 2007 because of safety concerns -- nearly double the national average of 5.6 percent -- and that "many girls also report a pervasive feeling of threat and lack of security."

The report pulls together existing survey data about girls in Chicago and Illinois and makes recommendations about a variety of development, health and wellness issues such as access to health care, mental and emotional health, sexuality, safety and substance abuse.

It also found that depression and other forms of mental illness pose a serious health issue for area girls.

Labels: violence, depression, research

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Modern American teen girls and young women may have more opportunities than ever before, but a May 9 article by Jackie Burrell of the Contra Costa Times notes that these options are often accompanied by an unhealthy pressure that can have a debilitating effect those who feel forced to achieve "supergirl" status:

In what may be the ultimate irony, there's never been a better time to be an American girl -- or one that's as risky. Teen suicide, depression, cutting and eating disorder rates are soaring.

In 2004-05 suicide rates jumped 76 percent for tweens and 32 percent for teenage girls ages 15-18, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And some experts say the troubling mental health statistics have much to do with the crushing burden society puts on teenage girls.

It's no longer enough to do well in school and be a caring, devoted friend. Today's young women are expected to combine high-caliber academic, athletic and extra-curricular performance, with the style and looks of "Gossip Girl's" Serena van der Woodsen.

In their efforts to meet "supergirl" expectations, many girls "confess they're practically mainlining caffeine and Red Bull," Burrell reports. "They're using Aderall, the ADHD medication that's misused on college campuses to sharpen focus and pump up test-taking ability."

Depression, anxiety, and the abuse of energy drinks and prescription pills can have devastating effects on teen girls and young women, many of whom may require residential substance abuse treatment in order to overcome their self-defeating behaviors and pursue a healthier and more satisfying future.

Labels: depression, girls, suicide, drug_use

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Depression and anxiety in teenaged girls is linked to low bone density, according to a study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

Dr. Lorah Dorn, an endocrinologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, studied girls ages 11 to 17 years old who had histories of depression or anxiety, and found they had a lowered bone mineral content. Other studies have found this to be true among adult women with depressive and anxiety problems.

Dr. Dorn was unsure why this link exists, but she speculated that high levels of certain stress hormones might affect bone density. Low bone density can have serious complications, including an increased risk for bone fractures.

Labels: depression, anxiety, bone_loss

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Having sex doubles the risk for depression in teenaged girls, according to a study of 14,000 students ages 14 to 17 years old. The same thing did not hold true for sexually active boys.

Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers found that 19 percent of sexually active girls had symptoms of depression, compared to 9 percent of those who remained virgins. The researchers took into consideration other factors - such as family conflicts - that could influence the development of depression.

This study appears in the Journal of Health Economics.

Labels: depression, sex

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