How Much Sleep Do Teenagers Need? Essay Sample

Although it may not seem as vital a need to people compared to food and water, sleep is one of the most important functions of the human body. The amount of sleep a person gets is the determining factor in what their mood will be like, how their brain will function, and what their overall performance will be. People that are ages ranging from thirteen to nineteen are the least likely to receive a healthy amount of sleep. As the modern world continues to expand, more and more electronics are created, and more activities to do on those electronic devices are brought into existence. Most teenagers are active on some sort of electronic device such as a phone, television, or gaming console, before they go to sleep. This, and many other causes like overscheduling can also affect the sleep cycle in teens. Staying away from poor habits can not only improve sleeping conditions, but can also stop the effects of sleep deprivation.

To begin with, pediatricians recommend school to start no earlier than 8:30am. This is taking into account that most teenagers actually fall asleep around midnight to 1am. On average, most schools in the United States start classes at 8:03am, the earliest start time being Louisiana with 7:30am. According to an article published by Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, “Presently, 68.4% of United States high school students sleep 7 hours or less on school nights, while only 23.2% sleep 8 hours, 6.0% sleep 9 hours, and 2.4% sleep 10 hours or more” (Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 4, 2017). If school start times remain the same, what can teens do to acclimate to a proper sleep cycle? 

For instance, screen time is one of the main causes of sleep deprivation in teens. It has been proven that spending too much time watching a screen before bed is extremely detrimental to how people sleep. In teens especially, they tend to have the largest amount of screen time in comparison to any other age group. The smartphone is the most prominent variable in this topic. Pew Research discovered, “over 95 percent of all teens owned a smartphone or had access to one,” proving that this could be a major issue in accordance with sleep (Hill 1). If teens reduce time spent on their phones, even if just before going to sleep, this would be a great step in improving sleep issues. Staring at a bright light for too long would cause anyone to react negatively. Especially the immediate contrast from a white vivid screen, to darkness in sleep.

Next, what if teens are unable to obtain a healthy schedule from just discarding lousy habits? It is not uncommon for teenangers to experience stress. Along with classes, sports, clubs, after school activities, even personal affairs, there is pressure placed on these individuals to perform at their peak as often as possible. The more tasks a student takes on, the more time he or she devotes to those tasks. This is another cause for lack of sleep. To illustrate a hypothetical situation, an outsider looking in on a student who is involved in activities such as golf and chess club, while also taking advanced classes and possibly dual enrollment classes, would see an achieved and diligent student. However, to that individual, he or she might spend their time from 3pm-4pm at a chess club meet, and from 5pm-8pm at golf practice. Considering most school takes place in an online setting now, assignments are typically due at 11:59pm on a specific night. This leaves about 3 hours left in the day to work on homework. Depending on the amount of work the individual has, he or she might finish by 10pm. So where does free time come in? This is the reason the majority of teens are so active in the night, it is the only time they have to unwind and do as they please. Because smartphones are the most popular tool at the moment amongst teenagers, this is what they choose to spend their free time with. This would demonstrate why the majority of teens fall asleep from 12am-1am.

Ultimately, making wiser decisions when signing up for activities at school, and learning healthier habits will improve sleep schedules in teenagers. Realistically, breaking the destructive sleeping cycle of a teen is not as easy as just going to sleep at an earlier time. Making sure not to overschedule, and spending less time on video games and other technological devices is necessary for having more time for sleep. If students fail to gain enough sleep, it highly affects how they will perform at school. It is not uncommon for teens to fall asleep during classes, and sleep deprivation can slow the thinking process causing poor learning in school. To achieve the highest level of performance possible, a teenager should get at least eight hours of sleep each night, even on the weekends. 

Works Cited

Watson, Nathaniel F., et al. “Delaying Middle School and High School Start Times Promotes Student Health and Performance: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine Position Statement.” Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine : JCSM : Official Publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, vol. 13, no. 4, Apr. 2017, pp. 623–625. EBSCOhost, doi:10.5664/jcsm.6558. 

Hill, Rebecca A. "What Are Teens Doing on Social Media and Exactly What Does It Have to Do with the Library? An Interview with Denise Agosto, Ph.D., Drexel University College of Computing and Informatics." Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 41, no. 4, Oct. 2018, pp. 12+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A560013568/ITOF?u=naal_una&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a2fff319. Accessed 15 Nov. 2021.