Dear Editor:      

Sleep is a constant cycle, which occurs every 90 minutes as we fall into REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. This constant alternating cycle is an important way to rejuvenate and keep the body healthy. At least eight hours of sleep is recommended by doctors; however, for students at NHS they are sleep deprived.

Students become owls, awake until midnight or all night to finish homework, projects, or to study.  Unfortunately, the following day students come to class sleepy, exhausted, unmotivated and unfocused. Sleep is crucial and mandatory for high school students to actively participate in the classroom.

In a study done in Britain, 900,000 children worldwide were examined for sleep deprivation. According to David Barnett, the shocking results revealed that America was the number one country with the most sleep deprived students in the world.

Nationwide, 75 percent of schools start before the suggested time of 8:30 a.m. For parents and students, getting ready for school is always a hassle. Teen-agers often have one or more alarm clocks set for the morning, or their parents become personal alarm clocks. According to the CDC, two out of every three students sleep less than eight hours a day. Affecting the student’s academic performance, health and safety. According to Danny Lewis, consequences exist to sleeping later at night. Without at least eight hours of sleep, students are often negatively affected: becoming overweight, physically inactive, develop depression, and start the abuse of drugs and alcohol.

Currently, schools are struggling with stressed and sleep deprived students which has become a great epidemic in America. At NHS, students can be seen walking the halls as exhaustion seeps from their tired faces, or unfocused because of  juggling school, after school activities, and managing their nocturnal life. According to Alexandra Ossola, it takes about three hours or more to work on homework and with pressure to do well in school students are staying up later. In order to enhance any students’ academic ability in school, we need at least eight hours or more of sleep.

Sleep is mandatory for students, especially those in high school and middle school who require more. In order to receive the required amount: students should try sleeping more early, diligently work on homework or projects earlier, but most importantly school start times should be pushed back. There are so many benefits by pushing back school time. All of this mentally, emotionally and physically plays a huge factor to the student’s mindset and actual ability to perform well in school.

Sincerely,

BaJie Vang, senior