Sophomore Brittany Gantz sometimes dozes off as a result of not receiving enough sleep. Photo by: Ashley Combs
By Ashley Combs
Late nights and early mornings are a daily ritual for many teenagers. Naps and set bedtimes were common for many teens when they were children, and with students gaining more responsibilities as they grow older, getting sleep can be the last thing on their mind. The National Sleep Foundation said “teens need about nine and a fourth hours of sleep each night,” and all of the students at Plymouth High School that were asked how much sleep they receive get much less than that. Without the necessary amount of sleep needed, teens are missing out on more than just a few hours of rest.
“School makes it hard [to follow a regular sleep pattern] because of homework,” sophomore Emily Blake said. When asked what time she gets to bed, Blake explained, “It depends, usually midnight on school nights because of homework.” Getting homework finished can cause teens to go to sleep later and also be more tired the next day for school.
Being tired can cause teens like Daniel Smith, Dani Letsinger, and Brittany Gantz to doze off during class. Junior Melanie Pedavoli said that she gets only five to six hours of sleep but she does not fall asleep during class “because learning is very important and so are grades.” When teens are tired it can be hard to fully concentrate on what they are doing for class.
Sports cause sophomore Andria Shook to be unable to get a sufficient amount of sleep each night and follow a regular sleep pattern because “sports take over my life,” she said. Smith agrees that “homework and baseball” get in the way of what time he gets to sleep. Many students enjoy having sports at school, but with sectionals and opponents that are far way, getting home late can be common. Tennis recently had NLC’s and sophomore Lauren Rearick explained, “We got home two nights in a row at midnight and in the morning I have to get up at six.” The tennis team getting home late cut into three hours of time that teens need to sleep. Even if school were to start at nine, many students that are in sports still would not get the suggested amount of sleep. To be a good athlete, one needs to be rested and ready to go. Getting only five or six hours can cause athletes to not perform their best and do as well as they would be able to fully rested.
Not only do sports cut into the amount of sleep teens get, working does also. Working can develop a sense of commitment and responsibility for teens, but being tired the next day for school is a problem that some students who work after or before school are facing. Many business don’t close until after nine PM, and just because a business is closed, that doesn’t mean there isn’t work that still needs to be done. Cody Pozil and Austin Thompson both agree that work affects the time that they get to sleep. They both also get less that six hours of sleep each night, with Pozil getting around five hours and Thompson getting only three or four. Even though jobs many be necessary in hard economic times, doing well in school is important so that teens don’t have to work jobs that only pay minimum wage for the rest of their lives.
Work, sports, and homework affect Plymouth High School teenagers the most when it comes to getting to bed at a decent hour. There is not much that teens can do about getting enough rest when there are other commitments that they are to attend to. It is important to get enough sleep when teens can so that they can do well in school and in sports. Getting not enough rest may seem “normal” and not a big deal, but down the road teens could end up paying for all of the sleep they missed by having more serious problems than just being tired.