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Sleep deprivation effects on academic performance
Sleep deprivation effects on academic performance
Sleep deprivation effects on academic performance
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Sleep Deprived Teenagers
On average, high school teenagers need to obtain nine to twelve hours of sleep for their body to function properly. The body undergoes four stages of sleep. “Stage 1 sleep, the lightest stage, is the transition from being awake to deeper sleep. Stage 2, intermediate sleep, accounts for 40% to 50% percent of your sleep time. Stages 3 and 4, called slow wave or delta sleep, are the deepest levels and occur mostly in the first third of the night.” Most high school students only reach the third or fourth level three times a night, which is the most vital. At this stage the body of the student is slowly repairing itself (Karriem-Norwood).
These results of sleep absence have caught the attention of Dr. Mary A. Carskadon of Brown University who did an experiment of the effects of sleep in the body, which has revealed that students’ bodies have become accustomed to the circumstances it has been involved in. Denise Dador, health specialist, stated, “Experts say about 80 percent of high school students are sleep deprived. They’re biologically programmed to stay up late” (Dador). Although the bodies of most high school students have evolved, side effects have emerged. Students have increase stress in their lives from the pressure to finish homework; high blood pressure can also result from the same problem of stress. Research also found that depleted amounts of sleep in students causes a decrease of learning and memory, since their mind is focused on sleeping. A freshman in high school states, “If I get less than four hours of sleep I find it a lot harder to stay focused, which makes it difficult to pay attention in class and do well on assignments,” (qtd in Taylor)
Dr. Kohler, a pediatric sleep expert, states the...
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Researchers have found a way to connect sleep with education. Gary Scarpello who wrote "Lack Of Sleep Could Be Trouble For CTE Students” , did a research study with liberty mutual showed that teens had an average of 7.2 hours of sleep on school nights and 33 to 75 % of all students have sleep problems. In the article it had stated that not getting enough sleep can cause impaired hand eyed coordination, reaction time and brief mental lapses. (Scarpello). The same researchers also found out that Sleep helps restores brain functions such as alertness, metabolism, and memory and regulate hormones (Scarpello). Researchers Mary A. Carskardon and A.R. Wolfson studied 3,120 Rhode Island children. They had figured out that college students who slept more than nine hours a night had a gr...
The importance of sleep is often an oversight for adolescents, whose busy lives can lead to sleepless nights. “Sleep is extremely important at the high school level because students are often involved in activities after school, followed by family time and then homework,” said district nurse Adeline Bryant. “Without adequate sleep, stress levels can increase and studies often slip. I advocate for 8 to 9 hours of sleep night for high-school students.”
Yager, J. (2010, August 1). Sleep Benefits and Sleep Deprivation Risks. ConsumerAffairs. Retrieved July 20, 2014, from http://www.consumeraffairs.com/sleep-benefits-and-sleep-deprivation-risks?page=1
Another reason that causes the negative relationship between sleep deprivation and academic performance is the impact of high-stress level that is caused by sleep deprivation. As mentioned earlier, sleep deprivation could decrease a student’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills. However, it can also make the students feel more stressful. According to the survey conducted in Ball State campus, there are 15 students that often do their homework before they go to bed. 10 students play video games, computer games, and mobile games before they go to sleep. 8 students use their electronic devices to do social activities. 5 students watch movies and television series and 2 students read books before they go to bed. This information proves
Voluntary sleep deprivation is a common occurrence for many collge students, who often partially deprive themselves of sleep during the week and compensate by increasing their sleep time over the weekend. This pattern of sleep deprivation and rebound becomes more pronounced around examination periods, sometimes resulting in 24 to 48 hours of sleep deprivation. By depriving themselves of sleep, college students are not only increasing their feelings of sleepiness during the day, thus decreasing their ability to pay attention in class, but are also negatively affecting their ability to perform on exams.
My physical health is the dimension I’ve chosen that requires a beneficial change. Within this dimension, changing my sleeping habits is my main goal. According to Hershner and Chervin (2014), irregular sleep patterns and sleepiness have a negative impact on a student’s performance, memory, and on their ability to learn
Were you aware that teens tend to have irregular sleeping patterns that can harm their body and the way it functions? When it comes to sleep, teens are inclined to stay up very late during the week and wake up very early in the morning. On the weekends, they seem to gravitate more towards waking up very late to catch up on the sleep that they missed earlier in the week. Now that you know what the causes of having irregular sleeping patterns can do to a teenager’s body, you will be able to see the positive and negative effects of what not having enough sleep can do to one’s self. These facts will be explored through the articles “Should Schools Start Later” by Justin O’Neill and “Why Schools Should Start Later in the Morning” by Emily Richmond.
"How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?" National Sleep Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2014. .
The majority of teenage students do not get the recommended amount of sleep suggested. Ironically, this hectic time in life filled with both school and social demands is when a person needs the most sleep. Students age 13-18 need at least 9 hours of sleep to avoid daytime sleepiness and feel awake at school. However, an article of the National Sleep Foundation, Backgrounder: Later School Start Times, shares the statistic that by the end of high school, students average 7 hours of sleep or less per night. The teen sleep cycle naturally lasts from around 11:00 pm to 8:00 am, and it is difficult to break. With activities and family obligations, many students cannot get to bed that early. Even the ones who make it by that time are unable to fall asleep until 11:00 pm because that is when their body becomes sleepy. Many teens have to get up around 6:30-7:00 am to get ready for school cutting their cycle short. This problem cou...
Stress is a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs both the physical and mental equilibrium. When you lose sleep not only are you mentally unbalanced, but you can also become unbalanced physically. Stress prompts the fight or flight responses, which can assist you in many everyday life situations. Although there is not much research focused on the topic of stress and sleep, this paper will attempt to reveal that there is a link between the two aforementioned topics. Since the human body’s stress system contributes to our ability to adapt and to our unceasingly changing society, it is imperative to know whether or not it is affected by sleep deprivation. This paper will focus on 11th graders due to the fact that the third year in high school is considered the most rigorous, since it is the year that is heavily looked upon by colleges. Do students who take more rigorous courses have less hours of sleep and more stress as opposed to students who do not take such rigorous
If all of these important activities occur during sleep, why is it that people are so willing to short themselves of this vital activity? Although much about sleep still remains a mystery, research and experiments continue to show how important sleep is to each and every person. Throughout this paper, I will discuss sleep and the effects that it has on performance and health, especially among college students. A college student’s sleeping pattern is a reliable indicator of their level of performance in the classroom and other school-affiliated activities, as a lack of sleep leads to decreased performance. Sleep is directly related to the level of performance and health of an individual; the more rested a person is, the better that person will perform and feel (Dryer, 2006).
Many times people think they can accomplish more if they could eliminate so much sleeping time. However, they are only hurting their productivity if they lose sleep. Two articles deal with the issue of sleep deprivation. The College Student Journal published an article about the grade-point average of college students and sleep length, while U.S. News & World Report produced an article dealing with the lack of
Introduction Sleep studies have been conducted since as early as 1913. However, the impact of school start times on student academics is often overlooked by most schools. In reality, start times can significantly affect academic performance by disrupting adolescents' normal sleep cycle, leading to a lack of sleep that impairs learning, and hindering academic performance. These theories have been tested through sleep studies, and most of them have been found to be true. Sleep Cycle Changes When children transition from primary school to middle or high school, it can significantly affect their learning due to changes in their sleep cycle.
"Common Sleep Problems." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Mary L. Gavin. The Nemours Foundation, 01 Jan. 2011. Web. 08 Mar. 2014.
Preliminary Thesis Statement: Sleep deprivation has detrimental effects on the health and academic performance of students.