The Effects Of Sleep And Stress On Children

When a student pulls an “all-nighter” studying, working, or simply stressing over tomorrow’s exam, they lose precious time that should be used to relax and rejuvenate. It has been recommended by experts that the average teenager get 9.25 hours of sleep each night in order to be fully functional the next day (National Sleep Foundation). However, only about 15% of American high school students are meeting this benchmark, creating concern among many doctors and sleep specialists. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health, losing too much sleep significantly increases the levels of cortisol in the human brain. Often referred to as the “stress hormone,” high levels of cortisol are very unhealthy for developing adolescents, slowing down communications between the brain’s frontal lobes and ultimately leading to the impairment of auditory, spacial, and visual senses. In addition, too much cortisol can cause students to become “emotionally irrational,” causing more dramatic responses to everyday situations. As a result, losing too much sleep makes it nearly impossible for students to concentrate and learn, which ultimately defeats the original purpose of homework, to improve learning and prepare students for the future.

Imagine: a world where a biological necessity is not seen as a priority, and adolescent’s educations are suffering. This is how schools’ think about sleep.What all human beings need to survive is being put on the back burner by most schools in America- sleep(11a). It has been proven through the process of scientific research that sleep is necessary on the same level as food or activity. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation is a chronic health problem that many youths suffer from today. Teens are naturally predisposed to go to sleep around 11 pm, but are forced to wake up around 6:15, not allowing any time for adequate sleep (“Backgrounder: Later school start Times” 1). Irregular sleep patterns during teenage years can cause long-term

Sleep is essential for cognitive, emotional, and physical wellbeing, especially those who are developing into young adults. Proper sleep hygiene, defined as “those practices of daily living that promote good sleep and daytime function” is considered to be a rising issue among adolescent high school students.9 An average adolescent would require between 8 and 9 hours of sleep per night to be considered well rested.5 One survey of American adolescents in high school reported that only approximately 14% of those students actually received an adequate amount of sleep.10 Another study estimates that approximately one-third to one-fourth of adolescent population does not obtain adequate sleep.3 Poor sleep hygiene can lead to many factors that will negatively influence high school student’s wellbeing. Lack of sleep has been proven to be a root cause for multiple negative health outcomes, such as: an increase in depressive symptoms, sedentary behavior, decrease in emotional stability, and reduced physical development.1,5 As depressive behavior increases and motivation decreases, it leads to a significant decline in academic performance and consequently affecting daytime function.4 Practicing proper sleep hygiene and building a foundation of good habits begins with the early stage of adolescents in high school.

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.

As a busy teen in high school, involved in many activities, I do not have much time for myself to relax and let my mind rest. When I come home from a long day of school, I still have homework that needs to get done. I go to sleep late and have to wake up early the next morning to get ready for school. Evidence from this article by Maria Konnikova proves that the stress I experience from my lack of sleep is not an exaggeration. Because I do not get quality sleep and I do not sleep long enough, my mind fogs throughout the day and my mood worsens because of my drowsiness. As I get more tired throughout the day, I become more hyper, having little control over my actions and responses. This coincides with the theory that inadequate sleep results

Some people may ask, “Why don’t teenagers just go to bed earlier, instead of having school later?” This is a common concern for parents and teachers as well. The fact is, adolescents have different sleeping patterns than adults do. Throughout the day, teenagers are most tired during the morning, and most alert at night (Cerve 4). “The body’s internal clock shifts after puberty, making it

Students,especially students who drive to and from school are also at risk of more car crashes because of sleep deprivation. Additionally getting good sleep is important to maintaining good health,staying awake and alert, and working at peak performance. Although students can simply sleep earlier, many need that time to study and complete homework, with a later start time students can get their homework down and get a sufficient amount of sleep.”According to this research, the ideal amount of sleep for the average teenager falls between 8.5 and 9.5 hours a night, and teenagers who receive adequate sleep benefit from better physical and mental health, safety, and academic performance. It also revealed that puberty causes a “phase delay” in teenagers, which shifts the time that teenagers fall asleep back by two

As children age and move from the first decade of life into the second the temptations to stay up later increases. The preference to stay up later is nearly universal among teenagers in all cultures and has even been observed in other mammals suggesting a biological basis. At the same time teenagers are beginning to stay up later and their recommended amount of daily sleep (8-10 hours) remains unchanged. Teenagers are unable to sleep in later as school start time determines when they must wakeup in the morning. This has led to an epidemic of chronically sleep deprived teenagers with only a small number of teenagers actually receiving

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

Many adults say that sleep is crucial to a human during its adolescent years. It is a proven fact that teens need an average of 8.5 to 9.5 hours a sleep each night, yet two-thirds of high school students are receiving fewer than seven hours of sleep (Howard, “Wake up Calls”). Some might ask, “Why aren’t teens getting the required amount of sleep they need?” This is because adults frequently advise teens to be involved in school activities, receive good grades, turn homework in on time, and maintain a healthy social life. Now, teens do what is advised by adults by taking Advanced Placement classes, playing sports, participating in extracurricular activities, and even getting after school jobs; but they still fall short on getting the required amount of sleep at night. The daily cycle of a teen involved in many school activities consists of not getting home until 7:00 P.M., eating dinner, doing loads of homework, using social media, going to sleep at 11:00 P.M. or later, then waking up the next morning at 6:00 A.M. to get ready for school. As you can see, an involved teen is only getting seven or fewer hours of sleep at night. Since getting an inadequate amount of sleep each night

Many teachers synchronize into a vicious cycle of mass homework and testing on the same days. The prodigious amount of schoolwork students cram into measly spare hours balanced between school, extracurriculars, work, and chores, create a psychological burden. Many students of Yulee High School describe their life as overwhelmed and report relentless nights of insomnia. These nights of sleep deprivation precipitates a negative effect on thought process, producing a severe descension of academic capability. No wonder this small town school is overrun with brain zombies. Nearly every student can recall a time of a major headache, panic attack or nervous breakdown caused by school stressors. A lack of free time, and rest is detrimental to emotional development of adolescents, causing those with deprivation in those areas to be at risk for anxiety and

This may seem like a fairly normal amount of time, but due to the 2 hour shift in an adolescent’s biological clock that occurs after puberty, “a teenager who used to fall asleep at 9:00 PM will now not be able to fall asleep until 11:00PM.” Sleep deprivation can cause a variety of shifts in mood, behavior, cognitive ability, academic performance, and can also cause drowsy driving, which is dangerous to the child’s safety and those around them (Mindell & Owens). The effects of being so overworked are nearly impossible to ignore, yet no one is taking action to help improve stress levels in teens

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.

However there was a positive correlation with success and sleep (Suskind). Homework can get in the way of activities that lead to better success. If the homework load is lessened, kids can have more time to sleep, which is very important to a child’s and teenager's development. Many health issues occur when students do not get enough sleep. The Medical Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School published a research article that states a lack of sleep aids in the development of diseases such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.(Sleep and Disease Risk)The article shows that students need sleep, and with the balancing of school, activities, and home it cuts into time for sleep. With the sleep deprivation and a large workload students are very prone to health issues and stress.

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?