On average, how many hours of sleep do you think you think that you get at night?

Do you think it’s enough?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, teenagers are supposed to get about 8-10 hours of sleep each night. If you regularly sleep somewhere in that range each night then congratulations, you can probably get through the day without feeling drowsy.

If the number of hours you sleep falls under that range, you probably can barely make it through the day without dozing off in class at some point.

Why is It a problem? Why don’t the majority of students get enough sleep?

For one, it’s a problem because exhaustion can be directly linked to why a student is failing a class or maybe just not paying attention.

There are many factors that can be considered when it comes to sleep deprivation, but here’s one that most students can relate to.

It’s obvious, but can also be forgotten easily, school. School has a huge effect on a student’s life, sleep included. School work and extracurriculars can take up most of a student’s day. For example, a student might have a soccer game to go to and homework to do. If they get home late at night, they might have to stay up even later to finish homework. This goes for students who work as well. Even if a student doesn’t have any extracurriculars, academics may take up most of their time.

How can we fix this issue? There is no one way, but here is some advice that you can use for yourself. 

• Try doing homework early.
• Limit use of electronics.
• Get on a sleep schedule.
• Limit coffee and alcohol.
• Avoid short naps throughout the day.