Laferriere

Adrianna Laferriere
Mrs. Pettay
ENG 111 3A
23 October 2015
Sleep Deprivation of High School students
High school students across the nation wake up to feel like they are dragging throughout the day
only wishing to go back to sleep. Yawning all day and wishing to catch those extra zzzs,
students are expected to push the minimum requirement of the school day. Students are told to
make the most out of high school, take advantage of opportunities and join any activity or sport
possible. They work as hard as they can with a limited amount of sleep and a lack of energy.
With all of the contributing factors of being a high schooler, these students struggle to work and
participate in the classroom at their full potential with the limited amount of time they are given
to get a full nights rest. High school students who are deprived of sleep may not be reaching
their full potential in the classroom which can affect their health and their future academic
achievements.
Those students deprived of sleep are not able to fully succeed academically. After
spending over seven hours at school during the week, nearly 10% of adolescents will sleep less
than or close to five hours per night spending their remaining few hours at home doing
homework instead of being able to relax. According to the Sleep Foundation, students need
approximately 8-10 hours on school nights. With this study, an entire 85% of students are left
unaccounted for that could be getting little to no sleep at all. Students who are not getting enough
sleep at night are also the students who have lower grades and a lack of motivation to work on
homework and other activities. Studies within the past 10 years conducted by The Bureau of

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Labor Statistics shows that students spend an average of seventy-five percent of their time doing
homework and less than five percent of their time getting sleep. This lack of sleep and
motivation has caused students to spend less time preparing for the next day but rather deprived
or have sleeping disorders also have related health and psychological issues.
Students who do not get the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep are prone to other health
issues. Students deprived of their sleep are more likely to develop skin problems, behavioral
issues and unhealthy dietary habits. These issues develop because of the amount of work given,
and the high expectation of any students who desires to complete in the race to college. With all
of the other issues that come with being a teenager, going through puberty, and surviving high
school, students are expected to maintain good grades while also being a well-rounded student
and participating in events. According to the American Psychological Association, these sleep
difficulties are a correlating factor of depression and ADHD. The health issues that develop in
students at a young age can have significant effects in the lifestyles and health issues of these
students in the future.
To eliminate some of the struggles of being sleep deprived students and the school board
could take steps eliminating the number of students that are sleep deprived. The school board
could push back the time of school starting until at least 9 am which would give students more
time to sleep before school starts. Students that are sleep deprived should focus on implementing
study times to stay organized, bring grades up and get more sleep at night because of the
specifically timed routine. Once the students are kept organized by maintaining a set homework
and study times, they will have more time to focus on their health.