Sleep is crucial for your body to function. It allows your brain to recharge and your body to rest. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), if humans don’t sleep long enough or well enough, our bodies don’t fully gain the benefits of sleep, such as muscle repair and memory consolidation.
Sleep is so important that even if a person is slightly deprived of sleep, the consequence can affect their memory, judgement and mood. Students should be aware on how much sleep they need a night, and be proactive about it.
There is constant complaining, especially in the morning, about how people are feeling “super tired.” In order for these complaints to stop, students must be aware on what affects their lack of sleep, and how they can improve their sleep.
The recommended amount of sleep for teenagers is 8.5 to 9.25 hours a night. In a study done by the APA, teens say they sleep 7.4 hours a night on school nights, and 8.1 hours a night on a non-school night. Eighth grade student Solenne Jackson stated, “On average I get 8 hours of sleep every night…It’s hard to be happy throughout the day when I’m lacking energy and I have high stress levels.”
When teenagers do not get enough sleep, 53 percent report they feel “lazy” and 42 percent say they feel “irritable.” 32 percent say they are “unable to concentrate,” and 23 percent report they feel “no motivation to do their responsibilities.”
As kids, it is essential to go to bed earlier. According to UCLA Health, teens need more sleep than adults, as they are at their important stage of growth and development. However, the deprivation of sleep can not always be prevented. Eighth grader Amelia Learner explained, “I don’t think I get enough sleep. However, it’s not really under my control. I have three to four extra-curricular activities a week, and that ends pretty late, so I’m doing homework until late at night.”
Students can be so involved in extracurricular activities that the amount of sleep they get can not always be controlled, due to when their activity ends and what they need to do before they go to sleep. Jackson also stated, “Playing a sport and two instruments makes my schedule very busy, and along with the homework I get from school, I don’t have enough time to get all I need done…the only solution is to stay up later.”
However, if students don’t always have extra-curriculars or a significant amount of homework after school, their late bedtime can purely be due to screens. As kids growing up in the 21st century, we become so caught up in television shows, movies and forms of digital media, that we don’t realize the affects they have on our sleep. High school and middle school health teacher Ms. Bambi Thompson stated, “Blue-light can keep you awake at night, so not looking at a screen, whether it is a phone or laptop, ideally an hour before bed can help you fall asleep faster.”
In order to have a healthy sleep, it is essential to take into account what teens must know about sleep. Ms. Thompson explained, “One thing that has worked in my life, is making sure that I get relatively regular bedtime and wake up time. Your body adjusts to going to bed a certain time. You’ll notice you wake up naturally before your alarm because your body is accustomed to it.” Although it may be tempting to click on one more YouTube video, or finish the chapter of your book, sticking to a bedtime can really increase your efficiency and concentration levels throughout the day, which is what you want.
When deprived of sleep, concentration and efficiency levels decrease, therefore students are not as efficient during school. In order to prevent deprivation of sleep, it is really important that students go to sleep in the range that is recommended for teenagers, and they disipline themselves so they can have a healthy sleep, and as a result, they can focus during school hours.
