Sleep is not overrated

Students need to get proper sleep at night to function the entire day at school

Students need to get proper sleep at night to function the entire day at school

Esther Son, Staff Writer

Though students often function on very little rest at night, the consequences can be more detrimental than they might think.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, teenagers function best when they get 9 1/4 hours of sleep a night.

Teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns across the week—they often stay up late and sleep in late on the weekends, which can affect their biological clocks and hurt the quality of their sleep, the National Sleep Foundation study said.

“I get about six hours of sleep on average,” sophomore Tiffany Xiao said.

Although being in high school plays a role in the amount of sleep teens get, there are other factors that prevent the chance of getting a good night’s rest.

“I lose sleep because of homework, TV and daydreaming,” sophomore Hareem Moeen said.

Homework, in particular, prevents students from getting a full night of sleep. Students have a tendency to procrastinate and end up staying late to finish their work. The amount of classes and the workload from each class also overwhelms teens, and the stress makes it difficult for them to have restful sleep.

The advancement of technology creates an additional easily accessible distraction for students. According to CNN, personal electronics can reset an individual’s internal sleep clock.

“It’s always there, as well as my compulsive need to check it,” sophomore Ben Hasan said. “Also, my music never stops playing, and it’s pretty difficult to sleep through that.”

Not getting the proper amount of sleep can limit your ability to learn, listen and concentrate. It can also make you forget important information like names, numbers and your homework, as well as make you more prone to acne. According to the National Sleep Foundation, aggressive or inappropriate behavior can sometimes be linked to a lack of sleep.