Students always seem to be sleepy.
This constant made the staff of The Authored Ascension ask the question, “Do students get enough sleep?” The staff hosted a survey titled “Not Enough Sleep” for the past three weeks. Students were asked a series of questions regarding after school activities and the amount of sleep they get.
It is not a lie to say that students are tired at school, but why? Of course the school day starts early in the morning, especially for those who would sleep past noon if given the choice, but it does not seem like these tired students ever wake up. Is it too much homework, too many extra-curricular activities, or simply just not enough hours in the day? Whatever the case may be this is a serious issue that warrants examination.
12 students between the ages of 15 and 18 answered the survey. 100% said they are involved in extra curricular activities, and only two students said that they get enough sleep. Almost all of the students who answered the survey are either involved in football, swimming, or volleyball after school; and on top of that 75 percent said that they do not finish homework until about 11 p.m.
When asked what was the cause of not getting enough sleep, most everyone said too much homework and studying, but Summer Milam says, “Having so many things to do and things to prepare for for the next day” was a factor.
Is it really too much school work or is this just said because school work is the last thing that is usually done before bed? When asked what Adrienne Childress does after school she says, “Volleyball Practice or games. Usually practice is until 5:30 but some games end around 9:00”. Extra curricular activities take up a lot of time, and they can also be very tiring.
83.4 percent of the students who answered the survey said that they get between 6 and 8 hours of sleep a night, which is within the range of hours that are traditionally recommended. If these students’ responses are representative of the whole population, it begs the question of why are students so exhausted during the day.
School does not let out until 3:40 in the afternoon. Students are expected to play sports or be involved in extra activities, get homework done, eat dinner, prepare for bed, and on top of that like Summer says, prepare for the next day. This is a lot to do, and it leaves no room for relaxing. Now we can understand why students look forward to the weekend so much; but what can be done?
There is not one solution to this issue considering the fact that not everyone lives the same life and is involved in the same activities, but understanding the stressful and busy days that students have leaves room for future solutions. Right now the best thing for students to think about is time management. Do not wait till 10:00 at night to start doing homework and try to get enough rest on the weekends as well.