High-school life can be a tough. The constant demand: school, sports, friends and free time consuming you, draining your energy. The average day consists of a loud alarm blasting around 6:30 a.m. followed by a half-asleep-rush to get ready for school. As the day rolls on—a test, a quiz, an hour of note taking, another quiz, more note taking, another quiz and a test. I get more and more physically and mentally exhausted, and by the end of the day I just want to go to asleep. Then, come the after-school activities: meeting with a teacher and an hour-long sports practice, an evening peer ministry session. Arriving home drained, I don’t want to start my homework. The last thing I want to do is more schoolwork, and this is where the procrastination sets in. It’s nearly impossible to avoid it, no matter how hard I try. My body tells me a million things: quit, take a break, go outside, watch T.V., have a snack, text someone. But, I press on. After what can be several hours of hard work and dedication, I finally throw my pencil down, or slam my laptop shut feeling a sense of accomplishment. But then, I look at the clock. It is most likely past 2:00 a.m., pitch black outside and quiet, as my family has been in bed for over four hours. Usually, by this point, I’m dead tired, but I feel torn. I feel I’ve earned the right to do something enjoyable. I should at least be able to have a little time before having to get up and begin this process. All. Over. Again.
According to Time Magazine, most doctors and parents recommend a growing teen should receive at least 8-9.5 hours of sleep a night. Teens average between 5-6 hours of sleep, causing them to be less responsive and less mentally aware (Gupta). Teenagers not getting enough sleep, this can result in serious consequences such as impaired performance and a raised the risk of depression. If teens do not receive this crucial recovery period every day, they can become severely sleep deprived, making it very hard for them to function at a normal emotional and physical level on a day-to-day basis.
The function of sleep is to restore the body, to give it time to rest the mind, the muscles, and the entire biological system after a long day. When teens miss out on the 8-hour minimum of sleep, the body gets fatigued to the point where it is difficult to get up in the morning. While it may seem like losing sleep isn't such a big deal, sleep deprivation has a wide range of negative effects that go way beyond daytime drowsiness. Lack of sleep affects your judgment, coordination, and reaction times. In fact, sleep deprivation can affect you just as much as being drunk (Staff). Sleep deprivation is also a major cause of depression in today’s society.
Depression is a disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for weeks or longer (Teen). It is a serious medical problem that causes a loss of interest in activities and affects how people think, feel and behave which, in turn, can cause