There are several passages in the new book “Overloaded and Underprepared” that fill me with sadness for American high school students, the most driven of whom are forever in search of a competitive edge. Some use stimulants like Adderall. Some cheat. But the part of the book that somehow got to me most was about sleep. It’s a prerequisite for healthy growth. It’s a linchpin of sanity. Before adulthood, a baseline amount is fundamental and nonnegotiable, or should be. But many teenagers today are so hyped up and stressed out that they’re getting only a fraction of the rest they need. The book mentions a high school in Silicon Valley that brought in outside sleep experts, created a kind of sleep curriculum and trained students as “sleep ambassadors,” all to promote shut-eye. The school even held a contest that asked students for sleep slogans. The winner: “Life is lousy when you’re drowsy.” Sleep ambassadors? Sleep rhymes? Back when I was in high school in the 1980s, in a setting considered intense in its day, the most common sleep problem among my peers was getting too much of it and not waking up in time for class. Now the concern isn’t how to rouse teens but how to lull them. And that says everything about the way childhood has been transformed — at least among an ambitious, privileged subset of Americans — into an insanely programmed, status-obsessed and sometimes spirit-sapping race. Take one more Advanced Placement class. Add another extracurricular. Apply to all eight
Adolescents today face a widespread chronic health problem: sleep deprivation. Research shows that getting enough sleep is a biological necessity. Sleep is essential for a person’s health and wellbeing, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Teens are among those least likely to get enough sleep; while they need on average 9 1/4 hours of sleep per night for optimal performance and health and brain development, teens average fewer than 7 hours per school night, and most report feeling tired during the day (Nationwide Childrens, 2003). The root of the problem is early school start times.
I’ve been thinking about sleep ever since reading Maria Konnikova’s fascinating, three-part series for The New Yorker on sleep. And then my wife, Crystal, read the series, which got us both thinking about it, and talking about it, and experimenting with it.
“The bad sleep well.” This quote is actually the name of a 1960’s Japanese film directed by the world renowned director Akira Kurosawa. There isn’t much to say about the movie, but it has a key role in the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama play Doubt: A Parable. Out of all of the places that the author John Patrick Shanley puts this quote is right at the first page before chapter one and after the preface with two other quotes. The location of the quote and what the quotes say give the reader questions and what happened and maybe foreshadowing what will come in the book.
Only about fifteen percent of teens obtain the preferred eight hours of sleep they need to function properly (Neuroscience for Kids, 2010). Sixty percent of teens say that they are “tired” and fifteen percent fall asleep in class (School and Sleep Times, 2011). This shows that high schoolers are not getting
School districts expect us to wake up half an hour after the crack of dawn, go to school and while groggy and sleep deprived, and still expect us to surrender our full attention in each and every one of our 6 periods. Sending sleep-deprived teenagers to school as early as 5:30 is dangerously unhealthy, unsafe, and evidently counterproductive. According to the American Academy ofPediatrics, without receiving the appropriate amount of sleep teenagers find it 60% harder to focus in class. Lack of sleep can lead to excessive fatigue, emotional distress, laziness, obesity and a lowered perception of quality of
Many high school students wander into school each day shuffling around and trying not to pass out in their classes. In order to cut back on sleep-deprived teens, we must follow through with this solution; it would give students enough time to go to bed early and wake up at an appropriate time. According to Sleep Foundation, teenagers require eight to ten hours of sleep and are not getting that with the current schedule. Many teenagers have discombobulated biological clocks and need the opportunity to adjust their sleeping schedule as they see fit. If this plan were to be put into practice, more positive attitudes would emerge from schools all over America due to their fulfilled need of sleep, which would give teachers, students, principals, counselors, and even parents a more productive start to each day. On the other hand, I realize that the opposing side of this intelligent solution may proclaim that some teenagers would abuse this and go to bed even later, but people must also realize that a large amount of teenagers who wish to succeed academically would gladly not abuse this and respect this privilege; although there would be some teenagers to mistreat this, it is up to the maturity level of the student, and they choose whether they want to succeed or
In the article Teachers,Students and Sleep, author Dave Stuart address the effects of different qualities of sleep have on students. Stuart covers the causes for poor sleep and the consequences this can have. The author repeatedly references the work of Harvard graduate Maria Konnikova, along with Shawn Stevenson who has a bachelor's degree, thus they appear to be reliable sources. Stuart cover the negative effects of artificial light close to sleep, and the many positive effects of regularity in other activities on the sleep cycle. Dave Stuart makes his readers reevaluate how important sleep is.
Many students are not getting enough sleep. In especially middle schools and high school, teenagers are sleep deprived. At the age when they need it the most, teens are not getting enough hours of rest because of how early their school starts. It is very unreasonable that school for teenagers starts early when they need a great amount of sleep. Research shows that “33% of teenagers report falling asleep in school” (Wake up Call, 2014). If students are falling asleep in school, they are not getting the full amount of education and knowledge taught to them. They do not have the energy and positivity to accomplish their best during the school day.
I did not sleep well as a child. When I closed my eyes, I was not inundated with calming thoughts, nor fantastical images, but rather assaulted by existential anxieties which coaxed me into undesired ruminations about my being. I believed falling asleep was tantamount to relinquishing control over my ephemeral existence, as there was no guarantee of awakening. I found myself clinging to the present to the detriment of the future, desperately eschewing its hastened arrival for fear that it would not include me in its progression. And yet, every night, hour by hour, I would find myself succumbing to the physical and mental manifestations of sleep deprivation. I would come to plead for the very loss of control that I so viscerally feared, as
During this week’s article, “Most High School Students Are Sleep Deprived”, by Sylviane Duval, The author claims throughout the article that most high school students are sleep deprived. The author brings up valid points throughout the article and even gives ideas on how to solve this high school sleep deficient epidemic. Throughout this paper I will point out some of the major strengths and weaknesses I found in this article.
Throughout the United States, students are attending school with an insufficient amount of sleep. The early school start times our depriving the students of their much needed sleep. Students that must ride the school bus are forced to wake up even earlier than those who drive or get dropped off at school. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute states,”It is recommended for teenagers get between nine and ten hours of sleep” (qtd. in “The Economic Case for Letting Teenagers Sleep a Little Later”).
Frank Bruni responded to a piece of literature titled, Overloaded and Underprepared. In his response, Bruni expressed his concern for American high school students. Bruni stated that he felt sad for the most driven students, the students that push themselves beyond what they should. These status-obsessed teens sacrifice precious sleep to go above and beyond in academics or extracurriculars. Young adults have begun to replace the fun of adolescence with the desire and need for perfection. Many parents want to pull their kids away from the fast track because they are worried. The question that must be answered, should they?
Today’s Exhausted Superkids is Frank Bruni’s response to the book “Overloaded and Unprepared.” His response portrays many people of the younger generation whom do not get enough sleep. In his response Bruni states, “But many teenagers today are so hyped and stressed out that they are getting only a fraction of the rest they need.” Bruni suggests smartphones and tablets are part of the cause of keeping kids and teens up in the middle of the night. However, he also mentions these are not the only factors as to why students do not get enough sleep. Hard work is another culprit. Many students work hard to achieve their high grades and do better on their tests. They strive to be the best and be a part of as many extracurricular activities as possible. Some students use stimulants, such as adderall, to become the high achievers they strive to be. Frank Bruni made good points about teens being overworked, but I disagree with his idea that many students do not get enough sleep due to pressure and expectations because most of them choose to do other things rather than sleeping.
Teenagers are often viewed as unmotivated and lazy, but little thought goes into the contributing factors of this mindset. The article “The Science of Sleepy Teenagers” by Russell Foster proves how school early start times are not conducive to learning, and in fact, prove to be the opposite. Sleep deprivation in teenagers can lead to the neglect of their biological needs, social impairment and an increase in health concerns. As a result of this, teens are suffering.
It is estimated that only 15 percent actually get these amounts (Kids Suffer from Sleep Deprivation). This is particularly important for students who wish to do well in school. Dr. Carl Hunt, the director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, is spearheading a sleep campaign. Her philosophy is, “Sleep well, do well.” This is something that shouldn’t be taken to lightly. Sleep problems effect about 70 million Americans of all ages. Teens often have problems with daytime sleepiness. The old idea of early to bed, early to rise isn’t necessarily the best answer. Society is simply asking to much of teens (Sleep experts to teens). A combination of school, work, study and leisure, leaves very little time left for sleep. Being deprived of sleep definitely has an effect on how well students do in school and may be putting their health at risk. College students who stay up all night to study for a test or write a big paper that’s due often have no choice because of the pressures to do well and succeed, but at what price do they pay?