High schoolers often have to balance various things such as school, homework, friendships, and extracurricular activities. This usually leaves little time for one of the most important aspects of a student’s life: sleep.
A significant contributor to this issue is stress from school. Students may have a hard time falling asleep due to their grades and schoolwork. “Stressing about my grades makes it difficult for me to sleep sometimes,” said Andria Franklin, a freshman at Vista del Lago High School.
Phones also play a significant role in students losing sleep. Many students spend too much time on their cell phones, especially before bed. According to kidshealth.org, blue light tricks the brains into staying up later and makes it difficult to fall asleep. “Blue light fools the brain into thinking it’s daytime. When that happens, the body stops releasing a sleep hormone called melatonin. Melatonin is nature’s way of helping us wind down and prepare for bed. The body starts releasing it a couple of hours before bedtime.”
“I think a lot of kids stay up either on their phone on social media or like playing video games and I think that after you do that you kind of have to have like a cooling off period before you can actually go to sleep,” said Faith Dionida, a teacher at Vista del Lago.
Blue light is the type of light that most devices emit, so people have more exposure than they might think. However, it can be harmful to sleep. “Blue-light exposure in the evening — for example, binging a TV series on your laptop right before bed — will stimulate the melanopsin-containing cells and alert the brain, making it think it is daytime. That can make it harder to fall asleep and may affect the quality of your sleep,” said a study from Harvard Health.
An inconsistent sleep schedule also prevents many students from getting the sleep they need for a productive day. “Usually, sometimes I’m just more unmotivated to do other things or it’s just kinda hard to focus, especially when I have those inconsistent nights,” said Cesar Castellano, a freshman at Vista del Lago.
Meditation is a simple but effective way to fall asleep faster and sleep better, according to sleepfoundation.org. “…because meditation techniques often combine mental work with physical aspects such as deep breathing. By targeting both anxious thoughts and physical stress symptoms, sleep meditation aims to bring about overall relaxation that helps prepare the body for sleep.” Declutterthemind.com provides free guided meditation for many different purposes.
According to sleepfoundation.org, keeping a consistent sleep routine can help you get better sleep and fall asleep faster. “By creating habits and cues that promote sleep, it becomes easier to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep through the night.”
The CDC provides helpful tips on creating habits that promote better sleep. “Be consistent. Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning, including on the weekends.”
Putting your phone away before bed is an excellent way to keep blue light away from you before you sleep. The Cleveland Clinic claims that a good time to put your phone down before bed is at least one hour before you plan to sleep. “Generally, however, tucking your devices away for the night an hour or two before bed is a good rule. That includes not just phones but also other devices and electronics. While smartphones are typically the main culprit, even tablets and TVs can contribute to poor sleep.”
Consistent ways to get better sleep include putting your phone away an hour before bed, meditation, keeping a consistent sleep schedule, and avoiding blue -light before bed. Using these habits can help students achieve better sleep, helping them gain more energy and do better in school.
