Too tired to think of a headline

It is 1:30 a.m. As you ask yourself why you stayed up so late, you contemplate skipping first period. You climb into bed to savor a few precious hours of sleep before you get up for school.

We have all been there. Sleep deprivation is becoming a bigger and bigger problem among students. Teenagers who juggle school, work, and other activities while trying to maintain a reasonable sleeping schedule often have difficulties focusing or even staying awake in class.

“After seven hours of school, I have basketball practice and then a game. I get home at 8:30 p.m. and do homework,” Amatia Golbodaghi (’11) said.

According to studies by genh.org, a coalition of doctors, educators, and fitness experts, most students get an average of seven hours of sleep per night. Seniors report only six and a half hours of sleep. Although the average number of hours a student should sleep each night is eight, only 58% of students actually get that much rest.

Josh Briggs (’12) drinks “a cup of coffee every morning.” He believes it is the only way he is able to stay awake throughout the school day.
Interrupting the deepest stage of sleep (REM) in the early morning disrupts sleep patterns.

“Teenagers are owls—they naturally stay up late and wake up late,” explains AP Psychology teacher Kate Duggan. “When students don’t get enough sleep, their bodies force them to repay the sleep deficit, and they fall asleep during their morning classes.”

To help sleepy teens, some school districts have delayed their starting times. The Minneapolis school district, for example, pushed its start time from 7:20 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. Students reported less depression when there was a later starting time, and teachers reported that students were more alert and tardy less frequently.

One way to get more sleep is to avoid websites like Facebook late at night. The bright computer screen tricks your body’s internal clock into thinking that it is still daytime. Instead, do your Internet chatting in the afternoon or early evening. Avoiding caffeine in the afternoon also helps.