Sleep and Students: Why high school students are struggling to stay awake

West High School students are not getting enough sleep at home, which is causing them to fall asleep in class.

There are a variety of reasons for teens being so tired all the time. Teens at West, for instance, lose out on sleep because of their jobs, family responsibilities, and other environmental factors.

Fatima Sanchez, a freshman, said she “woke up to loud screaming and music at 3am.”

Not having enough sleep disrupts teens sleeping schedule and school work, but also sleeping too much can cause a problem.

“I went to sleep early but I still feel tired,” said freshman Yareli J.

Students should be aware of how much sleep they get at night, it affects how they work at school.  

Lack of sleep isn’t a West High specific problem though; teenagers miss out on sleep because of an unsupportive environment and specific psychiatric disorders.

“Also troubling are findings that adolescent sleep difficulties are often associated with psychopathologies such as depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)” according to award-winning science journalist siri carpenter.

Mental illness takes a part of teens lack of sleep, and school isn’t always the problem, but that isn’t the full answer.

Trying to fall asleep is kinda hard to, especially when you got an itch on your nose and can’t stop thinking about what you should have said in that argument you had back in 2016.

West high students are falling asleep in class, the consequences that it gives off doesn’t only apply to them but to everyone else.

“Later school start times may both increase the sleep of adolescents and decrease their risk of motor vehicle crashes” quote from JCSM.

The early school start times affect the many different risks that teens are put into, such as a lower chance in graduating, health problems, substance abuse, and suicide. A variety of teen suicide is strongly associated with sleep disruption according to JCSM.

“There is substantial evidence that the lack of sleep can cause accidents, imperil [risk on] students’ grades and lead to or exacerbate emotional problems” says U.S. Rep. Zoe Lonfgern (D-Calif.).

Did you know today’s high school students have the same anxiety levels as insane asylum patients in the 1950’s? Let that sink in.

It’s hard for teens to keep up with the amount of tiredness they have, according to a statement from Yareli J., especially with the overwhelming work they are given at school, which includes their activities in the classroom, homework, and other after school activities.

“You can be giving the most stimulating, interesting lectures to sleep-deprived kids early in the morning or right after lunch, when they’re at their sleepiest, and the overwhelming drive to sleep replaces any chance of alertness, cognition, memory or understanding” according to MAAS.