A student falls asleep during class. This student probably didn’t get enough sleep the night before.
Most teens are night owls, but because of that, we wake up late. This is a response to physical change caused by puberty. There are a lot of parents that complain about the fact that they are sleeping in, but if a teen doesn’t get enough sleep, the chances of them being moody, careless, unable to concentrate, and/or impulsive are very high.
I sent out a Google Form to see what time many EPHS students typically go to sleep on school nights versus weekends. Here’s what they said. 70 students (out of the 71 who took my survey) said they go to sleep between 9:00 p.m. and midnight on school nights. These students are also some of the same ones waking up as early as 4:00 a.m. to get ready for the school day. More commonly, others wake up between 5:30 a.m. and 7 a.m.
It is recommended that everyone get at least 8 hours of sleep each night but especially growing teens. These students are getting less than 8 hours of sleep each night because of the times they are going to sleep.
“More than 87 percent of high school students in the United States get far less than the recommended eight to ten hours, and the amount of time they sleep is decreasing” – Ruthann Richter. This highlights a significant issue among high school students in the United States: chronic sleep deprivation. With “More than 87% of high school students… get[ting] far less sleep than the recommended 8 to 10 hours per night”, the common nature of the problem is emphasized. Also, the fact that our average sleep time is decreasing over time suggests a negative trend increasing that could have long term effects.
As a result of not getting enough sleep, teens start to get moody, their behavior changes, they might have difficulty concentrating in school, which could lead to lower grades, and there’s an increased risk of anxiety and depression. This is an example of all of the bad things that could happen if we aren’t getting the recommended amount of sleep we should be. This is why it is so important to be getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Although it could be fun to stay up late talking to friends, watching TikTok, or playing video games, those kinds of things are taking a big toll on us.
All in all, sleep is very important for everyone but especially growing teenagers. Not getting the right amount of sleep has very serious consequences. Some ways to get better sleep are not using electronics at least 30-60 minutes before bed, not taking naps after school, and trying to avoid caffeine. All of these things can help us get more sleep and feel better during the day.
Works Cited
Garey. J. (2024, March 8) Teens and Sleep: The Cost of Sleep Deprivation.
Child Mind Institute Richter. R (2023, October 3) How Teenagers Lack Of Sleep Is taking a toll on their mental health. PBS News.
Stanford Medicine. (2015, October 8) Among teens, sleep deprivation an epidemic.