The truth is, Hewitt students can barely recall the numerous sleep seminars that we have had in the past, and no one seems to be getting a sufficient amount of rest in times when it is most needed. At most, some may recall a sleep log we made, but clearly no valuable information has stuck with most of the students over the years. After taking a loose survey, I learned the majority of Hewitt Juniors get around 5-8 hours of sleep and do not feel that their average school night’s rest is sufficient in fueling them throughout their day.

The solution is simple: get more sleep. But why is it that when this is communicated to early high schoolers, the information is just not reaching them in an impactful way? Could it be the timing of these seminars? Or perhaps there might be another way to indirectly assist in our sleep schedules? The bottom line is, teenagers these days have more distractions and not enough time in the day to battle the urge to check notifications and manage a heavy workload, all while getting a sufficient amount of sleep.

The teenage brain continues to develop everyday, and while scientists are unsure of why exactly it is that humans sleep, they know that 8 to 10 hours is crucial for teenagers in feeling well rested and functioning properly. However, most Hewitt students fall short of this requirement, barely falling under the minimum number of hours. We are not alone in these statistics. According to a 2011 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 7.6% of American students fall into the recommended 9-10 hours of sleep daily, 23.5% sleep 8 hours, and an unfortunate 38.7% are seriously sleep deprived at only 6 hours or fewer a night. Hewitt must take an alternative approach in helping their students manage stress and sleep, as well as equip us with valuable skills that we can use as we embark on our journeys in higher education.

The first issue is the timing of these seminars. Junior year is a vital and stressful time in determining the future of a student. APs and SATs are now in the picture and ironically it is a high point in sleep deprivation at a time when sleep is really vital for success. Sleep is truly a necessity at this time for reduction of stress and wakefulness in completing difficult tasks. Having these seminars way before college and before all this added difficulty on our radar creates a lack of interest on the topic. However, participating in these seminars at the beginning of junior year with a different approach would most likely have the highest success rates.

Secondly, the issue is not that we are misinformed or we need someone reminding us that our phones are a time suction vacuum, but it is the lack of time management skills and discipline that leads to the level of sleep deprivation and stress we all face currently. If it is really that necessary to hold the sleep seminars so early, then it is just as necessary to present information of value and impact. Some time management methods that could be proposed:

  • Online monthly and daily schedules that are customized to each student’s needs
  • Writing down the amount of time a task is assumed to take so students may develop a concept of timing
  • Apps that can help limit distraction such as “Selfcontrol”, a computer application that blocks a list of websites for a set amount of time and “Forest”, an app that lets students measure their daily productivity and creates incentives for staying on task

 

These habits will allow students to minimize their procrastination time and increase their hours of productivity that indirectly creates more time for sleep. Once these skills have been worked on, the seminars could then move into things such as sleep logs.

Sleep is the only way one can be mentally healthy and achieve success in their high school careers. Many studies have shown that sleep, focus, and memory are all related in the learning mind. When we are tired, we cannot focus, recall information as easily, become more stressed, and we perform poorly on exams,  which all results in the difficulty of falling asleep due to stress and being too drained to begin work as soon as school is done. This cycle is one that can be broken only by better time management. The exact mechanisms of sleep are not known, but in learning and memory, three terms are commonly used to describe sleep’s role.

  • Acquisition: The introduction of new information to the brain.
  • Consolidation: The process by which memory becomes stable.
  • Recall: The ability to access stored information.

 

Acquisition and recall take place while we are awake; however, there is a strong body of research that suggests consolidation occurs while we sleep due to the strengthening of neural networks relating to memory formation in crucial stages of the sleep cycle. Here are some basic facts about sleep, as presented by the NIH and other sources:

  • College students are one of the most sleep-deprived populations
  • Sleep deprivation in students has been linked to lower GPAs because sleep affects concentration, memory and the ability to learn
  • As many as 70 million Americans may be affected by chronic sleep loss or sleep disorders
  • High blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, or stroke are some of the more serious potential risks associated with chronic sleep deprivation
  • Research links an increase in the hormone cortisol, which produces a stress response in the body, to insufficient sleep; cortisol can break down collagen, the protein that makes the skin smooth

 

These facts only scratch the surface of information that can impact students in a way that will motivate change, rather than just take more sleep into consideration. These facts, coupled with methods of time management, will produce the most successful response. If we develop the skills of proper time management and discipline, we will be aware of how our time is being used and we will then have the ability to go to sleep at an earlier time; thus, greatly reducing our stress and preparing us for the intense workload we will face in college.

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