Highschool students are among the largest group of people affected by sleep deprivation, including various factors which contribute to this. Firstly, most teens participate in countless extracurriculars: sports, clubs, volunteer events, jobs, etc, alongside the few hours they’ll spend on homework every night. Child Mind Institute says “over a third of teens get only five to six hours [of sleep] a night” out of the doctor recommended 8-10.
Due to this, teens are declared to be chronically sleep deprived. Performance in school and other day to day activities is negatively affected, and the physical and emotional detriments pile up. An inability to focus in class, drowsiness throughout the day, and heightened anxiety and depression overwhelm the majority of teens in today’s society.
Hormone imbalances evident in teens are also contributing factors to their consistent loss of sleep. As children age their natural circadian rhythm(their sleep cycle) delays to a later time. However, most schools begin before 8:30 in the morning, giving little to no opportunity to follow this biological cycle, and thus decreasing students’ performance.
Additionally, the combination of addicting applications like social media or video games and the blue light emitted from electronic devices both prevent sufficient sleep. The light released informs the brain to do just the opposite of sleep.
In addition to all these preventive factors, adolescents are already low on melatonin, a hormone which prepares and provides effective sleep. Compared to the average adult, teens therefore may require a different routine to accommodate to their later circadian rhythms.
By: Madison DeLorme
Sources:
Garey, Juliann. “Why Are Teenagers so Sleep-Deprived?” Child Mind Institute, 12 Oct. 2021, childmind.org/article/teenagers-sleep-deprived.
Richter, Ruthann. “Among Teens, Sleep Deprivation an Epidemic.” Stanford News Center, 8 Oct. 2015, med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2015/10/among-teens-sleep-deprivation-an-epidemic.html.
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