Catching Some Z’s
What is your least favorite part about school? Most students would probably answer quick with a simple answer: ‘Getting up early.’
Many students wake up around 5:30 or 6 a.m.
November 30, 2018
It has been scientifically proven that teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep to fully function the next day, but are Liberty students meeting that need?
If you are like me, and are involved in a sport, your night goes a little something like this. You stay at practice until about 6 p.m., go home and eat dinner, finish your homework, take a shower and it’s time for bed. By then its about 10:30 or 11:00. I wake up at 5:30 in the morning to get ready and eat breakfast.
That’s about seven hours of sleep. Two hours less than the amount of sleep recommended. And it isn’t just me. Fewer than one third of American students get the recommended amount of sleep, according to The Center of Disease Control and Prevention.
As soon as you hear that alarm in the morning, your brain instantly goes, “Ugh, just 10 more minutes.”
Freshman Hailie Romine usually gets around six hours of sleep at night. She takes her grades seriously but finds that she struggles to concentrate in the mornings when she is tired. She says school should start later and her response was simple.
I can’t function and I find it’s harder to get through the day. — Hailie Romine
“Definitely. My lack of sleep affects my grades,” Romine said.
Romine is one of many students whose grades are affected because of lack of sleep. So, what do we do to feel more refreshed in the morning?
One tip that I gathered is to turn your phone off 20 minutes before you sleep, or at least turn your brightness down all the way. Cool down your room by turning the thermostat down to 60- 75 degrees. And one surprising tip is to “Focus on Staying Awake.” It’s like reverse psychology for your brain. You could also try taking a shower in the morning.
Mr. Eldredge, the activities director, gave some insight on how he feels about a well rested student.
“This (The amount of sleep we need) depends on the person. I am good with six hours, however, my children seem to be better on 9 or 10 hours.”
Eldredge knows that everything is affected if you don’t get enough sleep.
“I feel like we perform better in all areas when we are well rested,” he said.
What are your opinions on this topic? Is 7:15 to early to start, or are you a morning person?
