By Norah Jewett ’25
Sleeping is something that we do most nights, even if it’s just for a few hours. The recommended amount of sleep for an average teenager is eight to ten hours—but some get five, others get three, and others pull all-nighters. While some teenagers choose to “make up” for sleep loss during the week by sleeping through Saturday, on the weekdays, most teenagers don’t get over eight hours.
The natural clock of a teen shifts about two hours so they aren’t tired in the evening. This can cause them to stay up, and normally you’d just sleep a few hours later into the next morning. However, needing to get up for school can disrupt this, causing you to lose those hours of sleep you would have otherwise gotten.
On top of just not feeling tired, phones play a large part as well. Using your phone before bed can make you lose hours of sleep. One study shows that 29% of teenagers report sleeping with their phones or other devices in their beds. (Common Sense) Devices emit blue light that disrupts the production of melatonin, which is the hormone that controls your sleep-wake cycle. This makes it more difficult to fall asleep and wake up the following morning.
Stimulants also play a role as well. Drinking tea, coffee, energy drinks or soda before bed disrupts your sleep cycle. Try to refrain from consuming drinks that have caffeine before bed so falling asleep isn’t as difficult.
However, there are some aspects one can not control in getting enough sleep. About 14% of teenagers suffer from sleep disorders such as insomnia. Many different factors can play a role in you not getting enough sleep: the piles of school work needing to be done before class in the morning, needing to check out just a few more posts from your friends, or maybe just staying up because you just don’t feel tired. But make sure you get to bed at a reasonable time to ensure that you won’t feel sluggish in the morning.
