The alarm clock screeches, sounding the end of yet another short night. Internal protests eventually subside as the millions of American teens roll out of bed against all of our instincts with one thought on our minds: I want more sleep. On the bus that thought consumes us until we lean against the window and sleep regardless of the bumps that crack our skulls against the window. In school, that thought pesters us, urging us to close out eyes for just a minute.
As a student I often find myself struggling to resist sleep during class. My eyelids droop and I physically strain to stay awake. Normally, I get up at 6:00 to get ready on time for school but I am a lucky student. Lucky because most students get up at 5:00. Sure, adults get up at the same time but the effects are different in adults. To put it in perspective waking up at 5 for us is like any adult waking up at 3 and being on their way to work within the hour. Now getting up at 3 sounds daunting even with the proper amount of sleep whereas most teens only get 5-6 hours on average nationally. That is 4-2 hours less than the American Pediatrics Association deems necessary! The key term here is necessary because without 8-9 hours of sleep our mental and physical health often …show more content…
Therefore, we have to function according to that rhythm (Wahlstrom). Since teens’ rhythms are delayed, we have to fight a hormone that can literally knock us out to stay awake in class. However, factors like light have effects on the timing of the Circadian Rhythm and studies showed that when teens carefully regulated their light intake in the evening their rhythms were reset to that of an adult (Carskadon). Yet this “solution” is highly unrealistic for any teenager since it requires meticulous regulation of artificial light to a degree that very few people, even adults could
As a student I often find myself struggling to resist sleep during class. My eyelids droop and I physically strain to stay awake. Normally, I get up at 6:00 to get ready on time for school but I am a lucky student. Lucky because most students get up at 5:00. Sure, adults get up at the same time but the effects are different in adults. To put it in perspective waking up at 5 for us is like any adult waking up at 3 and being on their way to work within the hour. Now getting up at 3 sounds daunting even with the proper amount of sleep whereas most teens only get 5-6 hours on average nationally. That is 4-2 hours less than the American Pediatrics Association deems necessary! The key term here is necessary because without 8-9 hours of sleep our mental and physical health often …show more content…
Therefore, we have to function according to that rhythm (Wahlstrom). Since teens’ rhythms are delayed, we have to fight a hormone that can literally knock us out to stay awake in class. However, factors like light have effects on the timing of the Circadian Rhythm and studies showed that when teens carefully regulated their light intake in the evening their rhythms were reset to that of an adult (Carskadon). Yet this “solution” is highly unrealistic for any teenager since it requires meticulous regulation of artificial light to a degree that very few people, even adults could