Sleep deprivation is an all-too normalized phenomenon in a typical American High School. According to research from the Child Mind Institute, 60-70% of teenagers have severe sleep debt. So what is behind this lack of sleep?
Is it due to doom scrolling? Maybe a lack of interest? For many, the real reasons lie in the overwhelming demands of homework, sports, clubs, and, after-school jobs. These constant responsibilities have reached unreasonable levels.
Although the pursuit of academic and extracurricular excellence may be paramount into college admittance, it oftentimes leads to student exhaustion and burnout, with 1 in 5 students reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression.
College admissions are increasingly competitive. The New York Times found that Ivy League colleges collectively received 590,000 applications in 2022, compared to the 175,000 applicants in 2002.
This level of competition requires students to enroll themselves in numerous activities all in the hopes of standing out among thousands of other sleep-deprived peers. But, the desire to learn is lost when students are staying up at all hours of the night finishing essays and math problems.
Some may argue that students need to learn to prioritize, but at the end of the day counselors and administrators tend to emphasize the importance of a diversified college resume.
It shouldn’t be the norm to face hours of homework every night. While students choose to take challenging courses they often feel compelled to take them.
Junior Leanne Saad highlights this issue, “The reason a lot of people have bad sleeping patterns is because they feel way too much pressure about education, especially being a junior and having a lot of AP classes can really impact sleep.”
With classes starting promptly at 8:30 am, staying focused in class can be a struggle when students can’t even seem to stay awake.
Saad noted, “Actually I see people fall asleep in class a lot, there’s even an instagram page that has pictures of kids falling asleep in random places at school.”
She continued, “Personally I get enough sleep. But a lot of people I’m friends with do not. I always go to bed at 9:30, even on the weekends because it’s good for you. And then, I try waking up early in the morning because I think that if I mess up my sleeping pattern it definitely impacts my mood and my efficiency when I’m learning.”
The Cleveland Clinic recommends adolescents aged 13-18 get around 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night. Research shows that sleep is crucial in memory, learning, behavior, attention and mental health.
Rodrigo Navarro, a dual language US history and Spanish leadership teacher, notes, “No, I don’t think students get enough sleep, because A, they have symptoms of sleep deprivation, they are tired, they lay their heads down. “
He describes that he overhears them say, “Oh I slept at four in the morning, two in the morning, I had work until ten PM, I got out of practice late and had homework.”
Navarro explained that self-responsibility is key: “Parents can’t sit next to the student and close their eyes for them and help them go to sleep. Students saying they are doing schoolwork at five in the morning, two in the morning, like ‘am I really gonna produce the best work then rather than if I had just turned it in late and gotten good sleep?’”
He adds, “Many students do juggle it all, many students want to do extracurricular activities, and so that is the decision that they make when they sign up for sports and for, you know, band or journalism or acapella club, those are things that yes you’re gonna add more to your resume, but it’s also things that are gonna require you to show up.”
Students are tired, and it needs to be recognized. When students think they have to do it all in order to have a successful future, they burn out. We need to emphasize the importance of a balance between academic pressures and rest.
