To begin with, sleep is extremely influential to a person’s daily routine and health. What most people do not understand is that sleep deprivation is the source of multiple health problems. A study performed by Dr. Judy Owens reveals, teens demand more sleep than adults and children, but few are capturing the amount they need. It is essential for adolescents to receive nine and a quarter hours of sleep a night to be able to function to the best of their abilities; however, teens biological clocks make it problematic for them to fall asleep at an ideal time and obtain the preferred amount of sleep while waking up in time for school. The lack of sleep that takes place during the week contributes to excessive sleep during the weekend which is the source of many health complications (New).
One needs the recommended amount of sleep in order to prepare and perform well on an exam, which is the primary achievement for students. Students need to be alert and have their memory fully functioning on the day of an exam. Secondly, cramming is a mistake because sleep debt can hinder a student’s ability in learning. Teens need at least 9 hours of sleep per night. During adolescence, their circadian rhythm shifts, this
Circadian rhythms change. Teenagers naturally more awake later so have more difficulty in getting up earlier. This is known as a phase delay. Normal adult sleep is 8 hours a night with 25% REM sleep however more sleep disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnoea occur. Sleep time decreases and people have more difficulty in going to sleep and they tend to wake up more frequently at night.
Infants have sleep stages similar to adults called quiet and active sleep; these are immature versions of SWS and REM sleep. By the age of 6 months a circadian rhythm has become established and by the age of one year infants are usually sleeping mainly at night, with one or two naps a day. The periods of deep sleep lengthen and there is a reduction in the amount of active sleep. It’s not yet known if this sleep is active with dreams. One suggestion to babies sleep patterns is that they sleep to make their parents life easier so they can get on with chores and work which enhances survival.
Studies have shown that young people brains work better in the afternoon even in the night. With school starting at 8:45am we don’t get enough sleep, with all the homework we have to do at night and all the outside activities we don’t get a chance to go to bed early and be ready to wake up early in the morning. If school started at around 10:00am which would give young people a bit of a sleep in and by the time we were at school we would all be woken up and ready to learn. The first two sessions of the day is the time we take to wake up, I know from experience that sometimes I just feel like I can’t remember a lot of what I learnt, it’s like it goes in one ear and out the other. By recess I’m fully awake and finally ready to learn.
Although many students claim they can manage with only a few hours of sleep, it has been proven that there are many detrimental effects of missing out on something many overlook as a minor daily activity. Doing poorly in your classes due to sleep deprivation can cause one’s grade point average to drop, which can lead to different problems such as losing scholarship or chances at getting more scholarships or internships, entry into certain programs, and losing membership to Dean’s List. From the athletic stand point, as a good population of college students participate in athletics, students may lose athletic scholarships or the eligibility to participate when their grade point average drops. The reasons which cause sleep deprivation can be fixed with simple steps and help
By the age of six months a circadian rhythm has become recognized. By the age of five, children have EEG patterns like those of adults but they are still sleeping more and having more REM activity (for brain development). During childhood, the need for sleep decreases, but in adolescence increases, to about 9/10 hours a night. Circadian rhythms change so that teenagers feel naturally awake later at night and have more difficulty getting up early. Adult sleep is typically about eight hours a night, with 25% REM sleep.
It also causes the reaction time to slow down, sometimes behavior becomes unpredictable, ability to make decisions decline. People do not always know when they are not getting enough sleep and when you are deprived of sleep, you are craving sleep. My results from the sleep deprivation test were 11 points and I could not trace the star accurately with my nondominant hand. I also realized that I fall asleep after a lot of activities such as; watching TV, in class during lectures, eating heavy meals, within five minutes of me getting into bed. It’s also hard for me to wake up in the morning without an alarm clock, I struggle to get out of bed, and I hit my snooze button a lot of times.
Why School Should Start Later Students need sleep. A study done at the University of Minnesota reported that schools with a later starting time produced students who were not as lazy, received better grades and were not as depressed compared to students who had earlier school start times. (Regional News 6) It has been scientifically proven that kids in their teens need around 9 hours of sleep, but a study done by the National Sleep Foundation proved that 25 percent of teens get less than 7 hours of sleep. (Regional News 6) It has been scientifically proven that the sleep cycle of the average teen is later and longer than the average adult and doctors have reported that earlier start times are actually hurting students, causing them to have health problems, and some have shown signs of being emotionally depressed. Students would perform better if they had more time before school to eat breakfast, they also would be more rested and not feel drowsy during classes, and finally wont be home alone for too long after school enough to be mischievous.
That is a terrible idea because although they’re the ones getting into them, it’s not just the minors fault. First off, the lack of sleep that these teenagers have been getting is one of the main causes on why all of these accidents have been happening. Children need a few more hours of sleep than adults do, so when these kids are waking up at 6 o’clock in the morning to go to school or college, it’s not only effecting their drove to school but also their drive home. The time school starts is another topic but I do believe that pushing the time back to 8 o’clock would make a huge improvement. Secondly, in the article “May Just Delay Deadly Crashes” by Anahad O’Connor he clearly proves by statistics and percentages that there have been more fatal crashes from 18-19 year olds rather than 16-17 year olds.