Students are often known as creatures of the night. Some might even say they’re almost nocturnal. They’ll often sleep at late hours such as midnight or, if cramming for finals or an important test, might even try to pull off an “all-nighter”. However, no matter how common these practices might be, many people don’t consider the consequences that their body will take the very next day after a night empty of sleep. According to research, teenagers need about nine and a half hours of sleep every night; however, on an average, students get about seven hours of sleep and many still, go through the day with less than five hours of sleep.
These types of activities take an extreme toll on a teenager’s body. Sleep is needed for producing hormones critical to growth and sexual maturation. However, without sleep, these hormones won’t be able to produce and as a result, there will be an unhealthy teenager. One of the problems with this act of sleep deprivation in students is the fact that most teenagers don’t stay up late or sleep later willingly. Often times, a teacher will burden students with homework and projects, often not taking into consideration the fact that many high schoolers have jobs, extra curricular activities, or sports. Even after a sports season has ended, a student might still be staying up later because they could have developed insomnia during that period of sleep deprivation. This is a grave consequence as it makes the body even more exhausted by the next day.
Teenagers not only get tired because of sleep deprivation. Lack of sleep can also cause moodiness, migraines, and irritability. Not to mention, a decrease in academic achievement. Students will often try to take a nap in class or fall asleep altogether. This causes them to miss critical educational points and will result in dropping grades. However, because of these dropping grades, parents will often scold their child and force them to study more, normally past the hour that they usually sleep, which starts the entire cycle over again.
Many may think that sleep deprivation is a dominant point in a teenager’s life. However, many don’t realize that it may be dangerous as well. Teenagers should take caution when it comes to time management by making sure to finish all their homework first, and then going to bed right after it is completed. Students should set up a nightly routine as to fall asleep earlier. With this type of planning, teenagers might not only get the best sleep of their life, but also a healthier body and more alert mind.