Lack of sleep is one of many challenges teens face, this lack of sleep is mostly engendered by school cognate events such as events and homework. HIgh school senior, Nicole Bankoski explained to the Chicago Tribune that due to school work she sleeps late and wakes up early and on her busiest days she doesn’t go to sleep until 3am. Teens are supposed to sleep 8.5 to 9.5 hours however studies show that teens are not getting this hours of sleep, which can affect their learning and growth. A lack of sleep not only affects growth and learning, according to the Chicago Tribune “studies from the past 20 years have shown that a good night’s sleep is crucial for both emotional and physical health”, also according to Judith Owens children regularly don’t get enough sleep have a higher risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and even alzheimer’s. Lack of sleep can seriously affect students learning for example students with higher lack of sleep are more likely to have higher level of fatigue, making it hard for students to focus and work productively. A lack of sleep can also provoke anxiety, especially in teens since they’re trying to keep good grades in school. According to the San Jose Mercury News, a straight A student and athlete collapsed into an emotional breakdown after her parents found she had gotten a D, later it was found that the teen have a major depression disorder. Lack of enough sleep and anxiety are engendered by school stress and the desire of being successful “there’s a consistent urgency that you have to be the best” said Los Altos High School junior, Borna Barzan.
As a student, I agree that due to school, we do not receive enough sleep. I know a classmate that had so much homework that the student wouldn’t go to sleep until 4am and had to get up at 6am, only sleeping for about an two hours which later on turned into anxiety and emotional breakdowns. This shows how school work can put lots of stress on students that can later have potential side effects. Schools should consider this challenges and give less assignments or less school time. Due to school related events, students don’t sleep enough, which also means they get less and less leisure time to spend with family and friends. In conclusion students need more sleep and leisure time to spend for themselves.