Lack of Sleep Causes Stress for CV Students

Improper sleep patterns have been affecting most students at Crescenta Valley High School. Having sports practice, doing homework, studying for tests, procrastinating, even going on social media or Netflix, all can hinder a student from getting enough sleep.

Furthermore, April is the busiest time of the year for highschool students because it is the student’s last chance to raise their grades, not to mention that AP Exams are coming up in early May. Overall this overload of work disrupts the sleep of even more students than usual, which then amplifies stress for high school students because they have difficulty focusing and staying alert in class.

Taking two to five AP classes, students in their junior year especially suffer from sleep debt. Rachel Shin, a junior at CVHS, told JSR, “In my sophomore [year] I had a hard time mentally, but this year it’s hard for me physically.”

 

There have been studies showing that teenagers have been getting only six and a half hours of sleep on average. The average amount of sleep required for teenagers is approximately eight to ten hours of sleep.

 

According to sleepfoundation.org, insufficient sleep is associated with ten risky behaviours like, “Drinking soft drinks one or more times a day. This does not include diet soft drinks. Not participating in 60 minutes of physical activity five or more days a week, using computers three or more hours each day, physical fighting one or more times, smoking cigarettes, smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol… feeling sad or hopeless, and seriously considering suicide.”

Fortunately, there are tips for having a healthy sleeping pattern. First, studies say that going on a regular exercise regimen is beneficial. Second, if taking a nap, it should not be longer than an hour. Third, despite not getting enough sleep on the weekdays, students shouldn’t get to sleep more than two hours later than they usually sleep during the weekdays.