How to Adjust to a Healthy Sleep Schedule for Success BY ALANNA DAVIS Staff Member
With the new school in session, teens are finding that they have to make significant adjustments to their sleep schedule. Even with online school last year, students received much more sleep due to several factors. For example, students didn’t have to worry about driving to school, catching the bus, or preparing lunch in the morning. As a result, students were able to wake up at a later time, and therefore, get more sleep. According to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), the sleep hormone in teens, known as melatonin, presents itself about one hour later in teens than it does in adults. However, before most teens go to sleep, they are occupied with their electronic devices, such as their phones or laptops. Whether electronics are utilized for homework or simply entertainment purposes, its effects can be detrimental to teen health. The blue light from electronic devices is known to suppress the release of melatonin in the body, throwing off sleep schedules, and resulting in less sleep for teens. Nighttime shift work can have one of the greatest impacts on teen
circadian rhythm. In particular, many students have part-time jobs. Senior Antonia Alfaro, works five days a week at Chick-fil-a. She often works night shifts after school and usually doesn’t get to leave her job until 11 p.m. Working a shift until such a late time disrupts her nighttime sleeping hours. Senior Autumn Beha is an IB diploma candidate. Driven and hard-working as she is, Beha often feels overwhelmed with her workload. As a result, she often stays up rather late to complete her homework.
lot of homework or tests to study for. I am often up late on school nights, staring at my computer screen for quite a long time, which I believe is the most influential factor regarding the decline of my previously healthy circadian rhythm,” Beha explained. This disruption in the teen sleepwake cycle may decrease mental and physical capacity, as it results in an increased feeling of tiredness for teens as they go about their daily routines. Changes in the body’s natural sleepwake cycle can cause sleep disorders and may result in various health conditions such as depression, seasonal affective disorder, and Sleep is like the bipolar disorder. golden chain that binds our For students eager to get a good night’s rest, Alfaro recomhealth and body together mends drinking warm tea, doing yoga, and stretching before bed. -Thomas Dekker American actor “It really helps me to de-stress and take my mind off of school for some time before heading to bed,” notes Alfaro. Overall, “I definitely got to wake up later taking time for yourself and staying off with online school, which felt rather of technology the last half hour before convenient. For instance, with online you go to bed, can be truly beneficial school, I only had to wake up about 30 for your sleep cycle. When it comes minutes before school started. Howto sleep, students should make it a ever, with in-person learning, I have priority to go to bed at a good time. It to wake up about two hours before is recommended that teens get seven school starts. As a result, I find that I to eight hours of sleep, and with such am getting less sleep than usual. This an optimum amount of sleep, students is especially the case when I have a may find that they feel more focused and energized.
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