Here I am, a freshman in college who should be refreshed after the summer off from high school and ready to move on to bigger and better things. True statement, but for some reason I am still so tired from all the lost sleep of my high school days. It has been said that teenagers these days are more stressed than the average working forty year old, which could all add up from the lack of sleep. In high school I was lucky to fall asleep by midnight after my long day which would restart again soon in just a short six hours. So I wonder today why I am still so drained and the effects my lack of sleep has/had on my body.

So the question is does lack of sleep affect teenagers in everyday life? The X variable being sleep and the Y being the effect it has on teens. On average teenagers get 7-7.5 hours of sleep every night even though they need about 9-9.5 hours. There are both biological and physical reasons for why teens don’t get enough sleep at night. Biologically speaking there is a shift in the “internal clock” or their circadian rhythms, causing them to fall asleep two hours later which leads to needing two extra hours in the morning which sadly just isn’t possible. High School begins between 7:00-8:00 a.m in most cases meaning the teen is waking up between 5:00-6:00 a.m just to make it to school on time, making their time period of being asleep very small. Other physical causes include rigorous courses which leads to homework, clubs, sports, religious obligations, etc., leading to a very packed schedule in a teen’s day.

Cornell psychologist, James B. Maas, says “almost all teenagers, as they reach puberty, become walking zombies because they are getting far to little sleep”. The effects of the lack of sleep can be harmful to everyday life. Sleep is food to the brain, meaning that if teens didn’t sleep bad things would happen just as if we didn’t eat all the nutrients we need from day to day. When teens don’t get enough sleep it limits their ability to learn, concentrate, and solve problems which is basically school in a nutshell. In a study conducted by Dr. Amy Wolfson and Dr. Mary Carskadon it was reported that students receiving C’s and D’s in classes were getting on average 25 minutes less sleep compared to their counterparts receiving higher grades. In a social aspect teens become very irritable and can lash out at their friends, families, or teachers which never goes well. It can also lead to drowsy driving, which is incredibly dangerous and similar to drunk driving or texting and driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there are more than 50,000 traffic accidents a year due to drowsy teens and their driving. Other issues stem from bad behavior meaning substance abuse or other extreme risk taking behaviors.

So what can we do to save these teens poor unfortunate souls? Maintaining a sleep schedule, avoiding sleeping late on weekend/taking excessive naps, and turning off electronic devices are some simple ways to make changes. Do homework earlier in the day and making sleep a different priority is also extremely important in maintaining a normal/better sleep schedule. Although hard to enforce I personally think high schools should start at later times, and extend the day a little later. It is crazy that some places start as early as 7:00 in the morning, it is just so early, especially when there are so many issues that arise from it. Overall, I think lack of sleep is causal in decreasing the well being of teenagers today.