Sleeping Away Your Alcohol Abusing Odds

In a recent study, it was proven that teens who achieve less sleep a night are more likely to abuse alcohol. I find this interesting because so many kids, with all of their busy schedules, are often getting reduced sleep, especially during the school year.
As a high school student, I know that parties and alcohol happen. I myself have never had experience with it but I know plenty of people who have. It seems like the norm nowadays. I was actually surprised however to see that it was linked to lower amounts of sleep. However, when I think about it, it seems right. Most students who are at high risk to drink and party are the same ones that stay out late on the weekends and are maybe "too cool" to go to bed at 10pm during the school week. That may be a contributor to the problem.
Honestly, I think that the whole thing is sad. If it true that students getting less sleep are more likely to drink and get drunk, then we are all in trouble. Many of my peers are getting less and less sleep as we go through high school. With sports and homework and work and other extracurriculars and family and friends, where does sleep come in? It is hard to balance a school life and a social life and also get a solid 8 hours of sleep every night. This means that we are all increasing our odds to abuse alcohol.
I think that a lot of the responsibility however, falls on the parents. Parents are really busy with their lives and full time jobs and are sometimes worn out when they come home at night. So tired that when their child wants to go out, they let them, no questions asked. Because of this, kids get themselves into bad situations, they abuse alcohol, and often they drive drunk. Parents need to make sure their kids are home at a decent time, and that they are being careful when they are out. They should set guidelines and their kids should expect consequences if they don't follow through with them. They should be aware of the short term and long term consequences of alcohol abuse, and their parents should be monitoring them, to make sure they aren't abusing it.
Low amounts of sleep are such a common thing in high school, parents are more important than ever. Because reduced sleep increases the odds of alcohol abuse, parents should decrease it. Parents need to take responsibility for their children and make sure that they are being safe.

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