Sleep is an essential part of everyone’s lives. Everyone, no matter what age, has to sleep the right amount to ensure they stay in good health physically and mentally. However, Horizon’s start time is 7:40 a.m. for students and with staff arriving much earlier. It’s important to ask, are students and staff getting enough sleep? What are the effects of sleep deprivation on someone?
Eris Samaras is the nurse at Horizon High School, she commented on the effects of sleep deprivation on someone by saying, “There are studies that show that sleep deprivation plays a huge role in aging. Besides aging, it can increase anxiety and disturb your hormones. I would say that sleep deprivation is the main cause of a lot of people’s issues.”
These health issues from sleep deprivation are further compounded, at least for teenagers, by their circadian rhythm, their internal 24 hour clock. This causes teenagers to want to sleep in and wake up later by about two hours due to hormone changes caused by puberty. Teenagers also need more sleep compared to adults. However both of these clash with the early start times of American high schools, with Horizon being no expectation.
However, the early start times do have an advantage. In the words of Martin Tonjes, one of the assistant principals at Horizon, “I think it helps out with athletics and after school activities. We start early and get out earlier. So since we get out earlier, after school events can happen without students missing out on class time.”
Ethan Wise is a freshman at Horizon who is taking fairly rigorous classes including CP Biology and AP World History. Ethan described his sleep schedule by saying, “I sleep from 10 p.m. and wake up at around 5 a.m.” Ethan also commented on his fatigue stating, “I have a hard time waking up in the morning… I feel pretty tired throughout the school day. I have a lot of classes to do.”
This general fatigue throughout the day is not unique to just Ethan. Vincenzo Bobko, a senior at Horizon who is currently taking four AP classes, commented on his sleep schedule and fatigue by saying, “It’s pretty bad, I think on average I sleep at 12 and wake up at around 5:30. I feel really bad in the morning, as well as throughout the day.”
Sleep deprivation is not only a massive issue not only for students at Horizon, it is also an issue with its staff. When asked on how big of a problem sleep deprivation is at Horizon, Ms. Samaras commented, “I would say like an 8/10. I feel like our schedules are really busy these days and stress levels are really high. I think life has a lot of stress in it and most people I know do not sleep well.”
Mr. Tonjes also shared a similar sentiment by saying, “I would probably say about an eight. It seems like there is a lot of work being done by students and staff… But, it does seem like a lot of kids are not getting enough sleep.”
Now what can one do about sleep deprivation? Sure one cannot change the school schedules, one’s physiologies, or the amount of work one receives. However, there are still things you can do to help your sleep. A few of the things one can do is have a consistent sleep schedule, consistent physical activity even if it’s just a walk, and avoiding caffeine and electronics around bedtime. These won’t fix a sleep schedule overnight, but they are good steps to take to help people get better sleep.
