Should Teens Get 8-10 Hours Of Sleep Each Night?

Do you think that millions of middle and high school aged youth should be practically dragging themselves around every day, because of sleep deprivation? No, they shouldn’t! Adolescents ages 12-17, should be getting 8-10 hours of sleep each night. Puberty is having a great impact on adolescents of these ages, which is why it is so crucial for middle and high school aged youth to be receiving a good quality night’s sleep. There is an unreasonably large amount of teens who are sleep deprived, and who find that their constant lack of sleep is negatively affecting their daily lives in several ways. One of which is the academic struggle that numerous students appear to face. Lack of sleep also has a major negative impact on youth, both cognitively

One of which is Dr. Daniel F. Kripke, an MD and Professor of Psychiatry specializing in sleep research and aging, who states that sleeping less than 8 hours is better than sleeping 8-10 hours (Asprey, 2018). Specifically, Dr. Kripke states that the largest amount of sleep a person should be getting is 6.5 hours, and one will function better off of this amount than they would from getting 8-10 hours (Asprey, 2018). In addition to that, partial deprivation of sleep is said to “improve depressive symptoms in as little as one day” (Matthews, 2018). These statements may be true, but there are an overwhelming amount of sources that state otherwise. One of which states that almost half of teens are too tired the majority of the time (Hershner, 2014). This is a large amount of actual teens reporting feeling that deprivation of sleep is making them feel groggy during the day, and is affecting them academically (Hershner, 2014). Also, teens who slept less reported that they were more prone to depression, rather than finding there poor sleep quality was acting as an antidepressant (Hershner,

If a student finds it difficult to retain information in class, sleeplessness may be the cause (Camille, 2014). In 2009, it was determined by French and American researchers that brain events called, “sharp wave ripples are responsible for consolidating memory” (Camille, 2014). The researchers stated that these sharp wave ripples occurred mostly during very deep levels of sleep (Camille, 2014). So if you are lacking sleep, the process of consolidating these memories is significantly disrupted ("Lack Of Sleep Leads To Poor Academic Performance" 2017). In addition, lack of sleep slows thought process (Camille, 2010). A student’s ability to perform tasks that require complex thought is weakened because of the fact that lack of sleep worsens one’s ability to focus and pay attention (Camille, 2010). Moreover, lack of sleep disrupts the body's circadian rhythm (Namni, 2008). That is, “the fact that in a normal 24-hour cycle, we will sleep at night and performance and alertness will reach low points between 3:00 AM and 5:00 AM” (Namni, 2008). Furthermore, if one is lacking sleep, their circadian rhythm is disrupted, and they will become exhausted at the wrong parts of the day (Namni, 2008). “A survey by the National Sleep Foundation found that 60% of high school students suffered from extreme daytime fatigue, which caused them to regularly fall asleep in class” ("Lack Of Sleep Leads To Poor Academic