Are Students Getting Enough Sleep?

A long-standing debate throughout The School is whether or not students are getting enough sleep. This is an important topic because a lack of sleep decreases cognitive function and focus in students.

Studies show that 8-10 hours of sleep a night is an adequate amount of sleep for students between 13 and 18 years old some students struggle to meet this standard, and suffer fatigue and a decrease in school performance, as well as a decrease in cognitive functions.

 A few weeks ago, I surveyed students in each grade to gauge how much sleep students at the School are getting and if it is enough. 

None of the freshmen interviewed dipped below the 8 hour benchmark. This is good considering it is the freshmen’s first year of high school and they should be eased into the high school experience.

Of the sophomores interviewed, only one was getting below the recommended 8 hours of sleep. As you can tell from this data, academics and athletics seem to increase in time commitment as students get deeper into high school, affecting the students’ sleep.

Of the juniors interviewed only two said they were below the 8 hour benchmark, however, all juniors interviewed were right at the 8 hour limit. Since the students interviewed said this was an average, some nights they could be getting less than 8 hours of sleep.

So what is causing this lack of sleep in students? As high school students move up through grades, the homework load picks up significantly. Also adding to this for juniors is the workload for studying and taking the SAT/ACT.

Along with academics, most students play at least one sport if not multiple. Practices do make students get home later, however, with some faraway games students can return home around 9 PM.

If you are reading this and feel like you are not getting enough sleep, make sure you are hitting the benchmark of 8 hours a night. The difference between 8 and 7 hours of sleep could be the difference between being well-rested and being drowsy in the morning.