By Sanjea Taylor, World News Editor
This year, many are noticing that teens are running on empty and not getting enough sleep to function throughout the day. From high school to college campuses, not getting enough sleep is becoming a serious issue that has major consequences.
According to NPR (National Public Radio), nearly three out of four teens are not getting enough sleep, and the numbers have only gotten worse. According to Newswise, up to 75% of teens go through sleep-related problems like having too little sleep and poor sleep quality, proving how much of an issue this is.
The issue of less sleep is very important because it impacts things like brain development, emotional regulation, and teen health. This problem doesn’t just stop after high school, as there are many students who continue their same unhealthy sleep habits when in college.
Between school, job stress, and social life, students often give up sleep without realizing how much it can affect their daily performance. Even with summer coming up, sleep habits don’t always improve, with many students staying up later and losing any regular sleep schedule.
Poor sleep is also connected to higher stress levels and lower overall happiness, showing that it goes past a simple habit and plays a major role in shaping students’ mental health.
There’s also a physical side to the issue of sleep deprivation that many often overlook. According to the University of Minnesota, teens who get more sleep spend less time being inactive and are more likely to stay active during the day, so sleep can also impact energy levels.
Sleep also plays a big role in how everyone handles emotions day to day. Many psychologists agree that without enough rest, it becomes a lot harder to stay calm. Dr. Tammy Zacchilli, professor of psychology and Dr. Antonio Laverghetta, an associate professor of psychology at Saint Leo University, shared their thoughts on this topic.
“Teenagers who do not get enough sleep are suspectable to mental health problems as well as difficulty with learning and emotional regulation,” said Zacchilli.
“There’re other things that can cause problems to mental health, but yes, it [less sleep]can cause problems with cognitive performance, and it can increase the chance of things like anxiety and depression,” said Laverghetta.
Laverghetta also added that sleep deprivation is a complex issue because it can sometimes be a symptom of deeper problems. For example, people dealing with depression may experience more insomnia or in other cases, end up sleeping much more than usual.
Sleep deprivation can also affect students’ focus and classroom performance, especially in college. According to the Child Mind Institute, not getting enough sleep can impact mood, self-control, and more, making it harder for college students to stay focused on lectures and manage academic stress properly.
“If a student does not get a good night’s sleep, they are more likely to come to class feeling tired. Quality sleep can help with attention and engagement in the classroom,” stated Zacchilli.
However, the question still remains: why are college students struggling to get enough sleep? A question like this is hard to answer when so many factors all overlap and influence sleep habits at the same time.
“One major issue that affects sleep is poor time management skills. Students often procrastinate, which leads to staying up late to complete assignments,” said Zacchilli.
“When I talk to students, I can tell you that a lot of them might be working extra jobs to support themselves, they’ve got a lot of responsibilities, or they just simply don’t have the time,” said Laverghetta.
Although many think this issue is mainly due to the amount of phone usage students have, it actually is not the main cause.
According to NPR, sleep deprivation is rising across all groups regardless of screen time, pointing to other major factors like early school start times, busy schedules, and less stable routines may be bigger causes to this issue, but it is also a factor.
“Research has shown that even one extra hour of screentime after going to bed can increase symptoms of insomnia. The blue light suppresses melatonin,” stated Zacchilli. “Also, social comparison that we experience while on social media can make us feel more anxious before falling asleep.”
“It depends on their particular lifestyle, if students are going out a lot at night and then sleeping in through the day, that could cause problems. It could be, how they eat, are they getting proper nutrition throughout the day?” stated Laverghetta.
Laverghetta also added that many students may not fully understand how important adequate sleep is, and some may not realize that their constant fatigue could be connected to poor sleep habits. Despite this, students can make simple changes to improve their sleep.
“[Students can] work on time management skills and ensure that you go to bed at a reasonable hour. Put the phone away before bedtime and don’t have the phone close to your bed,” said Zacchilli.
“I would say find yourself in an established sleep schedule…you should try to get around seven to eight hours of sleep. Also, if a student can work with a doctor, if they have access to a regular general practitioner to say, ‘What kind of sleep schedule can I get that works for me?’” said Laverghetta.
“Watch out with things like caffeine that can disrupt sleep. If there’s any anxiety or any kind of depression, Saint Leo has counseling resources they can reach out to, because that could be something that helps with anxiety and depression,” added Laverghetta.
