Students aren’t getting enough sleep—nothing new here. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 60 percent of high school students reported extreme daytime sleepiness. And how can you blame them? Anyone with high ambitions knows what it takes to get into a good college. Balancing extracurriculars with school and a social life can seem like a juggling act, but many feel that it’s the only way to reach goals.
Regardless of what teachers say, many students are certain that staying up to study will get them better test scores than extra zzzs would—myself included. Students are just too busy to study earlier. Okay, okay, maybe putting things off and surfing the net has something to do with it as well. But procrastination makes today’s students no different from those of generations past. Unfortunately, current generations feel that not studying must be followed by intense late-night sessions. According to an article in New York magazine, kids today sleep one hour less than they did 30 years ago.
As you may imagine, nothing good can come of that. Lack of sleep has been linked to depression, weight gain, an increase in cases of ADHD and, of course, poor school performance—even if we beg to differ. According to the article, studies of sleep-deprived students have consistently shown they don't perform as well as do student who get sufficient sleep. In a recent trial, a group of sixth-graders intentionally deprived of sleep performed as well on exams as average fourth-graders. That’s a two year decrease in cognitive ability. By one estimate, sleeping problems can hurt a child’s IQ as much as lead exposure! If that doesn't send us back to bed... well, let's just hope it does.
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