Students are stressed and falling through the cracks that make up their schedules every single day. And as the school year progresses, more work piles up. Getting enough sleep is extremely important, but with all this work, students are struggling to get enough rest every night.
Students involved in sports or any activity that requires focused practice are often pushing themselves by reducing their sleep time.
“I do a lot of math, tennis, and piano,” 7th grader Alice D. said. “I think those are the biggest factors in my life. Tennis practice usually goes pretty late, and sometimes I can’t find the time to practice piano so I have to do it late in the evening. I would be awake until almost midnight.”
Alice is only one of the many examples.
“I had volleyball practice in the spring and it lasted until nine,” LMS student Emily T. stated. “It definitely impacted my sleep a lot because I wasn’t getting the required amount of sleep.”
Of course, the added stress of homework is another worry of children like Kenza N., who does gymnastics, ballet, and sometimes soccer.
“They end really late. Also [I have] a lot of homework and assignments,” Said Kenza explained.
When students don’t get the required amount of sleep, they start to feel unfocused and irritable. According to an article by the Child Mind Institute, “Teens need nine hours of sleep a night for their developing brains. But studies show that close to 70% of teens don’t get that. Not getting sleep puts teens in a kind of haze. That haze can have negative effects on the way they think, react and learn.”
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended that children aged 6 to 12 years should regularly sleep 9 to 12 hours a night and teenagers aged 13 to 18 years should sleep 8 to 10 hours a night. The average middle schooler should get 8-9 hours of sleep.
NHLBI studies show that sleep deficiency can interfere with work, school, driving, and social functioning.
However, many students have also found a way to solve these hindrances.
“I started getting ready for bed at nine o’clock,” Colin K. stated after explaining his cello and volleyball practices.
“Try to keep away from screens before bed,” both Melissa and Emily suggest. “Turning off devices maybe 30 minutes before sleep definitely helps.”
Health and P.E. teacher, Mr Jenkins shared a useful tip for figuring out when to go to sleep.
“I would say, pick when you want to wake up, count backwards eight hours, and try to sleep then.”
That being said, if you wake up at 6:00 AM, counting back 8 hours, would be 10:00 PM.
Parents have been getting involved as well.
“I try to encourage them to get more sleep by turning off the internet after 10 pm,” says Zhe Li, a concerned parent of a Longfellow child. “I also stress the effects of getting no sleep to my children.”
There are many different ways that you can work through your homework (and realize that you don’t have as much as you thought) and improve your sleep schedule. Remember these tips, and keep on going!
