Students need more sleep

Eleanor Park | Conant Crier

You are still up, late at night, and your eyes start to droop. You will yourself to stay awake. Perhaps you have too much homework, a late night competition, or maybe you are just procrastinating. Nevertheless, eventually you just can’t hold on any longer, and you fall asleep. Sleep is a time when your mind and body rejuvenate for the next day. Unfortunately, teenagers are not getting enough, which needs to stop for students’ own well being.

According to the National Sleep Foundation , teens should get 8-10 hours of sleep each night in order to function optimally. However, many teenagers are falling short of this goal, which leads to negative health impacts. Some of the consequences are moodiness, drowsiness, fatigue and more limited learning ability.

The lack of sleep also affects students academically. Fatigue keeps a student from fully paying attention in class and contributes to a more limited learning ability. The result is poorer performance in school, which could have effects that last throughout your life. Doing well in high school sets students up for success in the future by allowing them to go to good colleges. Attending a good college can help a student land a dream job, get good pay, and maybe even work toward a tropical getaway in Hawaii. Teenagers need to get enough sleep not only for their own well-being today, but also for their future success.

One of the many factors in this sleep shortage is the amount of homework assigned to high schoolers. When students are taking five or six classes and doing sports and activities, homework loads quickly add up and keep students up at night. People cannot make more time to solve this problem, but one solution is for teachers to assign less homework. Rather than assigning worksheets that just repeat the same thing over and over, teachers should only assign work that helps further the students’ understanding of the topic more. An example would be an assignment that takes the concepts taught in class and applying them to unique scenarios in everyday life.

Another answer to this problem is for students to procrastinate less. I have heard countless stories of when students have pushed assignments back to the day before they are due and then end up staying awake until one in the morning to get it done. Students need to use their time wisely when it comes to school work.

Another big time waster is when a student draws out an assignment way longer than it needs to be. I personally have been guilty of this. A thirty-minute assignment will turn into a one-hour assignment just because I think I have plenty of time. Students need to get away from this mindset.

Furthermore, students need to resist temptations and distractions, as hard as it may seem, and try to get to bed earlier. It is very tempting to watch the new K-Pop music videos or to devour an entire book in one night, but it is more important for students to get enough sleep so that they are ready to tackle the tasks of the new day.

Sleep is key to students’ well being and future success. So if you are a teenager, make sure you’re managing your time and sleeping at a reasonable hour. If you’re a teacher, make sure that your homework load is effective and reasonable. Everyone wants the future generations to succeed in school and life. Sleep is one way to achieve that.

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