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Snoring instead of soaring
Late nights of homework lead to sleep loss for students
Audrey Raymond
Oct 26, 2007
For an exhausted student listening to teachers lecture for hours, it seems like nothing can stop the downward force of closing eyelids.
Between schoolwork, sports and possibly a job, high school students have a lot on their plates. Juggling this workload can seem impossible, and busy schedules provide for late nights.
When assignments pile up, even the most efficient multi-tasking teen can not prevent a late night of studying.
One teacher may think that an hour of homework is manageable, but seven classes make for some very sleepy mornings.
“I get about six hours of sleep a night. I don’t think it’s enough because I’m up to 11:30 pm or later doing homework,” said Elyse Nickless (9).
The average teen requires nine hours of sleep a night for maximum alertness, yet this is an average of which most only dream. In reality, teens get an average of six hours of sleep a night.
Increasing fatigue, the school schedule counters teens’ natural sleep rhythm. Teens are programmed to stay up late and sleep in. Late nights and early mornings for school disrupt teens’ sleep schedule.
“I get about seven to nine hours a night and I’m still always tired in the morning, but I somehow keep myself awake,” said Nicole Dussold (10).
Commonly, students combat this sleep loss by ‘catching up’ on weekends.
“I only get about three hours of sleep every night and I’m fine. I just sleep on weekends,” said Trey Jacobs (12).
Yet this only further disturbs sleep rhythms, drastically decreasing alertness and performance. For example, drowsiness and falling asleep at the wheel cause more than 100,000 car crashes every year.
This drowsiness also negatively affects academic performance. A later school start time would easily remedy the disparity between teens’ internal schedules and school schedules.
“I think we should start school later and get more sleep. I don’t get a lot of sleep because of homework and extracurricular activities,” said Kaitlin Consolino (10).
The current school system inevitably causes sleep loss, with consequences such as resorting to caffeine and falling asleep in class.
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