There is no such thing as too much sleep. I mean, come on, who doesn’t like snuggling underneath their blankets until 11:00 in the morning? However, these days, it seems that the quality time spent in our blissful dream world is getting shorter.
Why? I introduce you to the daily life of a teenager, or more accurately, the life of a high school student.
Is it worth it to stay up in the early hours of the morning to finish homework? Well, let’s take a look at the statistics.
On average, teens need at least eight and a half hours of sleep every day. Though, it was discovered that 85 percent of teenagers receive less than seven hours of sleep, meaning 85 percent of students are sleep deprived every week by ten hours. 40 percent of students go to bed after 11:00 p.m. and 26 percent admit they sleep less than six and a half hours on school nights. (National Sleep Foundation)
This insufficient amount of sleep has affected student’s grade. According to a survey by the American Psychology Association, researchers found out students who reported that they were getting C’s or lower in classes got about 25 minutes less sleep and went to bed about 40 minutes later than others who were achieving A’s and B’s.
A quarter of students whose grades have dropped admitted to be extremely sleepy during class. Of course, this leads to the fact that 25 percent of students fall asleep in class at least once a week. (New York News and Features)
Sleep deprivation not only affects school functionality but can lead to skin problems such as acne and pimples. Not only can they ruin your lovely face, a lack of sleep can cause students look toward food for a solution and cause unhealthy eating habits leading to the gaining of weight. (Talk Skincare)
However, do not lose hope. There are many solutions to let yourself have an amazing sleep.
Here’s how:
1) Avoid high energy or deep mind simulating activities before bed time. Basically, it takes quite some time for your brain to fully come back from the deep thinking. Do your schoolwork of harder subjects first, like AP Biology and AP European History. Trust me, the last thing you want to think about before your relaxing sleep is the structure of plasmodesmata junction in a plant cell.
2) Stay away from the electronics! I know, I know, that’s like asking you to live without oxygen. However, turning off the cell phone and staying at a distance from your laptop which is currently on the Facebook page, can obviously help a student focus more on an analysis.
3) Limit extra-circular activities. Start planning ahead for the future and for college. Decide on the activity you love and have the potential in which you can improve and then stick with it. It might be hard to cut down on other activities, but it’s totally worth the extra net time of sleep and focus. Students don’t have to take upon the whole world to get into a good college.
The tips listed above are only the few ways to reduce sleep deprivation. Little steps can go so far. With that, I hope this is the day when you can snuggle early in your blankets and truly start managing your time well.
