Lack of sleep is a problem not only for me, but for many teenagers. Sleep deprivation also takes a toll on physical and mental health along with other health problems. These obstacles will help one grow as a character because they can learn from their mistakes and solve them. By looking at what causes sleep deprivation, what the effects of sleep deprivation are, and what are the solutions to solve sleep deprivation, one can see that sleep is an important part to succeed in school and life. Sleep can be affected by many factors.
Yoonjung et al. reports that “sleep plays an important role in the brain’s reparative and integrative processes.” Without sufficient sleep, the brain cannot properly repair itself or complete integrative processes. Perfect et al. concludes, “Regarding the impact of sleep on performance in school, total sleep time (TST) has been associated with more school problems and lower grades.” “Why Is Sleep” also concludes that sleep loss in students is directly connected to lower grades and trouble paying attention. It is evident that the less sleep a student receives is correlated to his or her poorer academic performance.
Studies show that having the recommended eight hours of sleep is very important for the brain rejuvenates itself during sleep. A number of things contribute to the lack of sleep among teens. Glosser (n.d.) states that social life, caffeinated drinks, electronic media, depression and homework contribute to sleep deprivation among teens. He asserts that sleep deprivation in teens may also have biological causes because their body clocks are programmed to start later in the day, possibly for hormonal reasons. Due to an overwhelming number of academic requirements to be done, most students do not get sufficient number of sleep.
This is also proven by a study, which shows that students who perform worse on their exams seem to be more stressed and suffer from poor sleep quality (Ahrberg, Dresler, Niedermaier, Steiger, & Genzel, 2012). For instance, student A is a freshman at Ball State University. This student only sleeps for 6 hours because of bad sleeping habits and later on he sleeps for only 4 hours because of the new environment which has many factors that affect his sleep schedule such as social life, school activities or extracurricular activities. Then sleep deprivation is starting to affect him. He have a test the next day and studied the whole night and only slept for 2 hours.
To begin with, sleep is extremely influential to a person’s daily routine and health. What most people do not understand is that sleep deprivation is the source of multiple health problems. A study performed by Dr. Judy Owens reveals, teens demand more sleep than adults and children, but few are capturing the amount they need. It is essential for adolescents to receive nine and a quarter hours of sleep a night to be able to function to the best of their abilities; however, teens biological clocks make it problematic for them to fall asleep at an ideal time and obtain the preferred amount of sleep while waking up in time for school. The lack of sleep that takes place during the week contributes to excessive sleep during the weekend which is the source of many health complications (New).
Sleep deprivation and poor sleep patterns affects cognitive and motor processes as well as emotional stability (Pilcher & Huffcutt, 1996). Given that sleep affects cognitive functioning, sleep quantity should be a major concern for college students, for whom academic performance is a priority. There have been many studies that link “unhealthy sleep habits” with decreased cognitive functioning and academic performance. Pilcher and Huffcutt (1996) performed a meta-analysis on existing studies dealing with sleep deprivation and its effects upon various daytime functions. They define partial sleep deprivation as getting less than five hours of sleep in a night, short-term total sleep deprivation as a period of no sleep lasting less than or equal to 45 hours, and long-term total sleep deprivation as a period of no sleep lasting longer than 45 hours.
Participants in a sleep study took an eighteen-week course on sleep, then were evaluated for sleep improvement, but this test only had a limited number of subjects meaning it was not a reliable study (Hershner & Chervin 80). Furthermore, spreading awareness of sleep does provide a positive outcome, though on a university scale it would be different. Considering that there are thousands of universities all across the country where students are sleep deprived, it is necessary for students to learn how to use their time to receive an adequate amount of
Children get very whiney, bossy, or moody, it may also cause kids to lose focus easily. When kids only get 8-9 hours of sleep are more likely to end up in the ER. AS Renee Miller says kids really need the right amount of sleep a day, but too much sleep could be bad for the little ones body. Reut Gruber thinks that having less asleep can affect your life big time, some ways are by not concentrating in school or maybe when you are driving your car home from school. Sleep helps our health, memory, and academic potential, without sleep you probably wouldn’t get very good grades in school and be very grumpy to your friends.
The Relationship between and Effects of Adolescents Electronic Media Use and Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder Kids and teenagers are sleepy at school because the electronic media they have in their bedrooms leads them to have Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD)” Evaluate the truth of this statement based on the published literature in the area. Sleep can be described as a period of rest for the body and mind, during which volition and consciousness are in partial or complete abeyance and the bodily functions partially suspended. It is a very important phenomenon for kids and teenagers. Adolescence is a time when biological processes regulating sleep and environmental factors, are often at odds, and can easily result in untimely, insufficient, and irregular sleep patterns. Having an unaffected circadian rhythm aids important developmental processes necessary to a young person; and there is a large spectrum of serious effects that can occur due to lack of sleep.
During sleep, energy is replenished and energy saving organs repair themselves in the body. The brain moves new information to a more permanent memory, and the cerebral cortex shuts down during slow wave sleep(Brynie, 16). The frontal lobe is a part of the cerebral cortex and it is the brain’s most active region during waking hours. It also is the part of the brain that is is for reasoning and decision making. A night without sleep will impair performance of comprehension, concentration, creativity and problem solving.