Slacking on Sleep?

The average amount of sleep needed for teens is 8-10 hours, but as the year goes on, with the stress of friends, homework, and any extra at home interactions, more and more teens get less sleep. Generally, teens are at fault for getting the least amount of sleep. But at the beginning of the year they got around to the middle, winter, they start to get 3-4 fewer hours of sleep

Some say winter is the time when people get more tired and with the time change, this can make getting up harder. Teens on the weekend are more upbeat but as soon as the school week starts, they suddenly get exhausted, and sad. Some students aren’t as extreme as others. For example, Jared Tonrow, a senior, states “I guess a bit grumpier than usual,” when asked about his mood when he doesn’t get that much sleep. While Katie Lape, a junior who gets 5-6 hours of sleep, goes so far as to state “I become an ‘angry monster’ when I get a small amount of sleep.” This isn’t very helpful for when students have tests, presentations or essays for the next day due to winter break coming up so quickly.

Some of the reasonings behind sleep depreciation through-out the school year includes homework and electronics. Even some students have stayed up to as late as 4 am or pulled an all-nighter on a school night, possibly before a test, because of distractions/studying/homework. To fix this, students should try to get rid of all electronic distractions at least an hour before bed. Then try to, if possible, to finish homework and studying as soon as they can, before browsing the internet. As for the mornings, try to get up with enough time to get ready and energized before leaving for school. That way students can be less grumpy and exhausted for school.