Sleeping In Middle School

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.

As a result of a changing body and mind, adolescent sleep cycles have different needs than those of adults or younger children. As a matter of fact, Biologically, sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence -- meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00 pm (“Teens”). In addition to biological change in sleep patterns, teenagers also tend to have eccentric sleep cycles. Obtaining less than healthy hours of sleep during the school week and then catching up on their sleep on the weekends. Most teenagers during the school week, do not get the suggested amount of sleep. In fact, according to a recent poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, 80% of teenagers do not get the suggested amount of sleep of 9 hours on school nights (“School Start”). With changing bodies and minds, along with an increased amount of schoolwork and extracurricular activities, teenagers need more sleep than children of a younger age. Experts believe that moving back the start time of school for high school students will improve grades, test scores, and the overall health and personality of many students.

A As a person gets older, the amount of sleep needed each night gets less. Teenagers are an exception to that rule. The years from 15 to 18 packs on a whole new level of stress. Exams, homework, after school clubs, jobs, college, relationships, it’s all running through our heads at every second of every day. With a jammed packed schedule, hormones running wild, and teachers loading up the work, we could use some slack. If that could come in the form of a better night’s sleep, we’d be eternally grateful.

Sleep is a huge part of our lives. On average, we need anywhere from 7-10 of sleep, depending on age. However, few people, especially students, actually get the amount of sleep they should be receiving every night. You might be wondering, its only a couple of hours, why is this a big deal? Actually, sleep deprivation can have a huge impact on your day. According to the article “The Cure for Brain Fog” by Toni Gerber Hope, “lack of sleep has such a profound effect on our brains, making us forgetful, unable to concentrate, grumpy, accident-prone or clumsy”. Anyone who has lost sleep has felt these symptoms and they occur even slightly if one gets less sleep than necessary. There are many diagnoses for sleep deprivation but I believe that the rising issue is technology.

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

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?

The amount of sleep that teens, and young adults get at night is low. Teens need eight and a half to nine hours of sleep per night as doctors recommend(McKibben)(Reynolds). Many people in the United States only get around seven hours of sleep. Everyone has a unique sleep rhythm and for teens it seems harder for them to fall asleep and to wake up, compared to adults. Scientific studies suggest that females seem to inherit a longer

Teenagers are notorious for staying up late. And late nights coupled with early-morning high school start times means kids are losing a great deal of valuable sleep. Sleep experts now know that teenagers need, in fact, more sleep than adults and children. Sleep studies have found, and Dr. Maas concludes that “adolescents need a minimum of 9 hours and 15 minutes of sleep each night to be fully alert during the day” (Crombie 2). Statistics show, however, that few young people even come close to getting their required amount of sleep, with only 15 percent sleeping 8 ½ hours or more during the week (Finger 2). The majority of America’s teenagers, according to a study released by Stanford University, get a scant 6 ½ hours of sleep on school nights (“Adolescent Sleep” 2). With such inadequate sleep, it is no wonder that teenagers slump through the school day; they are legitimately and desperately sleep deprived. The blame for teens’ sleep deprivation, however, often falls on their own weary

Im sure you’ve heard a teenager say “I only get _hours of sleep and i'm fine” However, in the book The Teenage Brain, Frances Jensen shares her research about how many hours of sleep a teenager should get at night and the main causes of sleep deprivation. Teenagers need to be informed that Sleep deprivation among all ages can have a major impact on the actions and lives of people especially teenagers because their brains are developing at such a fast pace.This finding challenges the belief that it’s only a short term effect, like you’ll only be affected the morning ahead. As a result that's why most teenagers grow up to have long term problems or are always stressed.

Imagine flying across the country and having to instantly adjust to the new time zone every day for four years. The sleep deprivation and difficulty of that situation roughly equates to the sleep schedule of someone going through puberty. Our current school schedule is asking young, growing students to cut more than an hour off of the recommended sleep amount for their age. Whether the district is able to move the middle school start time closer to the high school start time or move the middle school start time to after the high school start time, depending on time needed for buses, I highly recommend changing it. Students would benefit if the Juneau School District changed the start time of middle school to a later time.

One of the most discusses issues is how to “establish adolescent sleep” for the new teenagers’ generation who are born in the boom-bust-cycle of technologies and modern entertainments which often distract them from sleep. Another issue is that most teenagers could barely get to sleep early at night because of puberty which mostly leads to “chronic sleep deprivation.” The National Sleep Foundation proved that proper sleep for teenagers is extremely important for proper growth. Teenagers need about 9 ¼ hours of sleep each night to benefit for studies and other activities the next day. For example, a student who gets only 3 hours of sleep, have a really hard time to pay attention in her class, and remember what she learned and experienced during the day. Therefore, sleep habits can help teenagers to function alert levels and maintain healthiest

Sleep is as essential to people as food and water. It is what recharges us after a long day, and gives our bodies a chance to heal and grow. So why don’t teenagers get enough of it? Teenagers today are faced with this devastating problem, called sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is when a person does not get enough sleep, which can rapidly lead to deadly health effects (Pietrangelo 1). This problem is serious, especially for adolescents, and should be addressed in an environment where teens feel fine with facing the severity of the issue. The most pressing teenage issue today that Dearborn Public Schools should address in the classroom is sleep deprivation since sleep deprivation causes lifelong mental health issues, it creates severe physical health problems,

In my experiences, I learned a valuable lesson about not staying up after midnight. I wasn't a troublemaking kid at home or school, but I had one major issue that affects my primary dream. In the Winter 2012, I used to be a night owl staying up very late in middle school. Mainly, I'll be staying up all night to watch random online videos, TV shows, and playing video games.

Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep. It is often seen in teens or young adults, as well as the elderly. There are many different causes for sleep deprivation, from stress to overscheduling and technology to your room being too hot. Teens suffer from sleep deprivation so

The Causes and Effects of Sleep Deprivation on College Students Today in 2017, 26-35% of American adults get a total of eight hours of sleep (Alic & Nienstedt, 2013). Sleep deprivation is a rising problem in college students today. 50% of college students report being sleepy on the day-to-day basis (Causes