Masuk Free Press

American high schoolers have arguably the most unnatural sleep schedules known to man. Teenagers are notorious for long nights cramming study material and finishing procrastinated work.

Many teens experience sleep deprivation brought on from an influx of school work and responsibilities, but they do not receive as much sympathy from the adults in their lives that they may deserve. 

Being told by misunderstanding parents to simply “go to sleep earlier,” and “stay off of electronics late at night” is an experience that all highschoolers can resonate with, and yes, while parents mean well, fatigue culture is too ingrained in highschool culture for their advice to really be suitable. 

In a study conducted in 2021 by Connecticut State Department of Public Health, it was concluded that only 21.4% of United States highschoolers got more than eight hours of sleep per night, which is the recommended amount by the American Academy of Sleep medicine. When that amount is not achieved, teenagers are likely to suffer from heightened levels of anxiety, decreased brain development, fatigue, migraine, and more. 

In a survey conducted of 82 Masuk students, only 19.5% of students actually achieve those crucial eight hours of sleep each night. When you apply that data to the whole school, only around 20% of students in each class are performing at optimal levels to ensure the most productive day. 

Teachers are facing classrooms of students where over 80% of the children are sleep deprived, and that strange statistic is something that has become so normalized that teachers have to adjust their lesson plans in order to account for the lethargic brains of their students. 

Teacher Andrea De Lotto observes that she does not see a “level of enthusiasm from students who are not coming in well rested,” and “as a teacher, she tries to adjust her instruction as to where the class is not doing one activity for too long.” As a teacher, she wonders where “people would be able to focus on singular topics for a longer amount of time if they got the proper amount of sleep.”

In a sample of Masuk students, 82.9% of students answered that on weekends or nights they do not have to wake up early for school, they find themselves staying up late for no reason. This strange phenomenon does not make sense at first glance, as why would students choose not to make up for their lack of sleep when they have the time? 

This strange habit can be attributed to the lack of time teenagers have to themselves in their packed schedules, which inclines them to stay up late hours into the night spending time with themselves. While at first glance, that does not sound like a bad thing, not catching up on sleep has detrimental effects on students when they are forced back into the routine of the school day. 

School nurses see the impact of this effect first hand. Nurse Karen Julian notes that “after weekends or breaks, sufficient rest is not achieved, [which results in] kids being sent from class after falling asleep, teachers seeing heads down and hoodies up.” She also sees an influx of kids asking to rest in the office, which as sympathetic as you can be, those students “have to be redirected back to class, as it is not appropriate at the highschool level to go into school and expect to sleep.” 

Students need to take control of their sleep schedules and examine what in their lives is stopping them from achieving the necessary amount of sleep. This should not be a difficult dialogue to open up, as sleep is already a large part of conversation between students, but perhaps not for the correct reason. 

Talk of tiredness are default topics in small talk with peers, and within those conversations, there seems to be an air of competition between students. 52.4% of Masuk students respond that they regularly compare how much sleep they get with their peers. 

There seems to be an air of competition around sleep. It is seen as a victory to be the person to win the sleep deprivation war;  while in actuality, students have it backwards.  

Junior Elizabeth Simpkins “prioritizes sleep,” and aims to get, “at least eight hours a night.” In doing this, she’s able to “wake up earlier and be more awake in the beginning of the day.”

Getting sleep should be an accomplishment, something to be proud of amongst your peers. You should be proud of being able to make it through the day without having to put your head down or make a trip to the nurse’s office. Sleep is self care, and perhaps the most crucial element of it. As the new year approaches, set yourself a sleep goal, and notice the visible improvement in your day to day.