The Wrong Sacrifice: Sleep Deprivation Place in High School (6 min.)
Society tells us that high school students only job is to go to college and succeed. We are told to succeed we must go to a good college. But they only way to be accepted is to be a well-rounded student. You must do sports, you must be on A-honor roll, you must be in clubs, you must volunteer, and you must have a job. To achieve these standards high school students are sacrificing health and social lives, and if you aren’t willing to make these sacrifices than you will fail.
The greatest heartbreak is that kids do sacrifice their health. Teenagers have even made a game/contest of which kid sleep the least, which kid pulled an all nighter. National Sleep Foundation showed only 15% of teenagers sleep the recommended amount. Meaning that a school of 2000 students has 1700 student not getting a healthy amount of sleep. Are teenagers health not more important than school?
Studies have shown that slight sleep deprivation causes impairment equivalent to alcohol intoxication. Parents wouldn’t allow their children to go to school intoxicated but yet every day many are sent off with sleep deprivation weighing like a mammoth. We have created an environment that fosters and encourages teen sleep deprivation.
I have personally been trying to take steps towards getting the recommended 9 hours of sleep every night. I have completely switch my sleep schedule from 1am-6am (5 hours) to 8pm — 4am (8 hours). Increasing my sleep duration by 3 hours. Instead of staying up late doing my homework at .01 miles an hour while being dragged down by my lack of sleep. I have instead decided to go to bed early and start my homework after a night of sleep increasing my productivity level. Even with this change I still unable to get 9 hours of sleep.
I know that I could easily get 9 hours of sleep if I decreased my extracurricular activities but I refuse to because “ I want to go to an IVY league college”. So I spend my life balancing AP classes, gymnastics, track, cross-country, robotics, National Honor Society, environmental club, computer programming club, student leader, work, and volunteering. My life is a schedule that prioritizes everything but sleep. This mentality is equivalent to a multitude of my high school peers.
The pressure is everlasting being pushed upon high school students from their peers. Walking through the hallways conversions echo across the lockers, “I pull an all-nighter for the second day in a row” and “I had some much homework that I was only able to get 4 hours of sleep”. These statements are said like a student is winning a gold medal. We as peers are only one pressure seen in sleep deprivation. The device resting in the majority of high school students pockets and hands has infiltrated our beds and our health. In a 2011 National Sleep Foundation poll on electronic devices found that 72% of teens bring their cellphones to bedrooms for use before bed and 28% allow their phones to stay on during their sleep, causing them to be awoken by texts, calls, and notifications. The “Blue light” emitted from cell phones causes drowsiness throughout the day from having less restorative sleep.
How can students succeed when their bodies are physically working against them? We are damaging our bodies and permanently putting them in extreme danger for the future as well as the present. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute says that ongoing sleep deprivation is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and stroke. Sleep allows our bodies to maintain our hormones and body development, keep blood sugar level at a normal, and defend our bodies from harmful or foreign substances. But yet with all these dangers we still foster an environment for high schoolers that makes sleep a bottom priority.
Sleep plays a humongous part to our mental health as well. National Institute of Mental Health found that, 1 in 5 teens has a severe enough mental disorder to affect their lives. We as teenagers go through our day enveloped in fear. We fear failure, dislike, loneliness, and not ever being good enough. And we only intense these feelings that drag on us down but not sleeping. Sleep and mental health issues are intertwined. A study shows that 50% — 80% of people with mental illness report having chronic sleep problems. Teenagers have been put on a path of doom and misery. Sleep is a necessity of life and it is about time we start treating it as so.
According to SLEEP, the Official Journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies teens have a biological urge to stay up late. This statement may cause some to believe that teenagers themselves are the problem and not the social environment they have grown up in. But since we can’t biologically change teens we should create an environment to help maintain their health not continually add more hindrance to their health. If we aren’t willing to change high school start times than we need to help high schoolers evolve to their surroundings to create a happy and healthy childhood. Limiting screen time, maintaining a sleep schedule, and encouraging naps are only a few ways to help decrease sleep deprivation.
A love for sleep is a necessity. We should love sleep like we love food. Sleep should be equivalent to getting to a delicious mouth watering burger for dinner after a long day. We should crave sleep not reject it. Sleep allows us focus and the ability to pay attention. Don’t strip yourself of a tool that will allow you to live a happier and healthier life. Without sleep people have a higher chance of making poor decisions. Too many bad decisions have been made in the world. Let’s put our best foot forward in creating an environment for teenagers to develop and create a better future for tomorrow.
Works Cited
Child, Calgary’s. “Tired Teenagers: Why Teens Don’t Sleep Enough, and How to Help.” Calgary’s Child Magazine, www.calgaryschild.com/ages-and-stages/766-tired-teenagers-why-teens-dont-sleep-enough-and-how-to-help.
Richter, Ruthann. “Among Teens, Sleep Deprivation an Epidemic.” News Center, med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2015/10/among-teens-sleep-deprivation-an-epidemic.html.
Staff, Live Science. “In US, 1 in 5 Teens Have Serious Mental Disorder.” LiveScience, Purch, 13 Oct. 2010, www.livescience.com/8787-1-5-teens-mental-disorder.html.
Stillman, Jessica. “Looking at Your Phone Before Bed Will Destroy Your Sleep — Unless You Do This.” Inc.com, Inc., www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/screens-before-bed-will-destroy-your-sleep-unless-you-do-this.html.
“Why Is Sleep Important?” National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 7 June 2017, www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why.
Images
Everson, Kelly. “Sleep Deprivation — What Our Experts Say?” Consumerhealthdigest, Consumer Health Digest, 7 Feb. 2017, www.consumerhealthdigest.com/sleep-disorder/sleep-deprivation.html.
“Go Back to Sleep Before Back-to-School.” Austin’s Top-Rated Sleep Lab, www.sleepsomatics.com/sleepsomatics-journal-blog-about-sleep/go-back-to-sleep-before-back-to-school/2015/8/24.
Rubin, Rita, and A. Pawlowski. “How Much Sleep Do Teens Really Need?” TODAY.com, TODAY, 8 Sept. 2016, www.today.com/health/how-much-sleep-do-teens-really-need-t102616.
University, Cathy Cruise/George Mason. “Fairfax Teens at Greater Risk for Depression, Suicide Due to Sleep Deprivation, Study Shows.” Fairfax County Times, 20 May 2016, www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/fairfax-teens-at-greater-risk-for-depression-suicide-due-to/article_e5633680-1ec7-11e6-b090-e36dfd21a8d1.html.
