The Mycenaean

According to the CDC, only 3 out of 10 students get enough sleep. 

Pros of getting more sleep

Sleep improves many things such as memory, focus, emotional health, and learning. 

Sleep helps the brain process information, which is the most important part of learning. When students are well rested, they can retain the information from their classes for future tests or homework. This will eventually lead to better grades.

Sleep helps with focus, which leads to paying more attention in class. Students would feel more inclined to learn, participate, and stay engaged in their work. 

Lastly, sleep can improve emotional health such as reducing stress and making it easier to handle daily tasks. Having good sleep every day helps with managing emotions, which will keep relationships with parents, friends, or teachers. 

Cole Quimby, sophomore, said, “When I get like eight or more hours of sleep, waking up usually feels a lot better and is kind of less forced. I can get more of my morning routine done, too.”

Cons of not having enough sleep

Sleep deprivation is when a person does not sleep enough or get enough quality sleep. Some problems with this are memory problems, academic performance, and even as serious as health risks. 

Without sleep, the brain has challenges with storing information. This can hurt students because if they cannot remember important information from class, they might not do as well on the tests. Remembering information is one of the most important parts of learning. 

Getting enough sleep helps students feel better during the day. If people don’t get enough sleep they can feel drowsy or even fall asleep during class time. This will make assignments harder to focus on and complete which can lead to decreased grades. 

Poor sleep leads to an increase in impulsive decisions. This is because there is a decreased ability to make decisions in the brain. 

Sleep deprivation weakens the immune system, possibly causing more colds or infections. For growing students, sleep can affect growth or metabolism. Higher rates of depression, stress, and anxiety are also possible and scary. 

Colby Cough, freshman said, “My workload as a freshman was a lot more in middle schoo,l so I’m stressed a lot. And not getting enough sleep usually makes my stress worse for me.”

How much sleep do we need?

It is important to know that everyone’s sleep schedule is different. Although there are recommended amounts, one student will feel well rested with eight hours of sleep and another will only feel well rested with ten hours. An active student may need more time to recuperate after a busy day. 

Teenagers around the ages of 14-17 usually need 8-10 hours of sleep. Younger children need more than 10, and adults need around 6-8. 

Most students do not get their recommended amount of sleep because of extracurricular activities, homework, and social media. 

“I have so much work from math and my other classes I don’t have time to sleep early,” said Shreyas Iyengar, sophomore. 

How can students get better sleep?

Here is a list of things that students can do to increase sleep:

•  To stick to a consistent sleeping schedule 
• To create a nighttime routine that fits the student’s schedule
• To limit caffeine and sugar in the evening
• To have a comfortable sleeping area
• To remove screen time around 1-2 hours before bedtime if possible 
• To increase natural light in the morning time
• To take short walks or active sessions
• To reduce afternoon naps 

“Listening to music right before bed helps me calm down and get off my phone before bed. I think some more people should do it because I get good rest,” said Jack Stern, sophomore. 

My personal experience

If I stay up late doing homework or spending time on my phone, the side effects are really bad the next day. It’s a lot harder to wake up in the mornings, so I feel more rushed and do not get everything done.

In class, I might be dozing off or closing my eyes a lot during notes or when I have assignments due. I feel like doing nothing but sleeping if I don’t get enough rest, and it is very draining because I do not get a lot of sleep every day.

I try to do my work right when I get home, but I procrastinate, and it never gets done until late at night. It’s the reason we all know — our phones — but I never do anything about it because I feel like life without it will be boring. 

Conclusion

Sleep is more than just resting at night. For some students, sleep is the difference between keeping up and thriving in school. By making sleep the first priority, students can improve their grades, keep better mental and physical health, and set themselves up for success.