Sleep: Are We Getting Enough of It?

Sleep. The most important part of our daily routine. It makes us more energetic, healthy and allows us to escape the harsh reality that is our society. Research from The National Speech Foundation shows that we, as adolescents, need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night. According to Health.com, sleeping improves your memory and increases your creativity. Additionally, in a research project done on college students, sleep was shown to improve grades, encourage happiness and lower stress levels.

Some of you might ask yourselves – with our growing stack of homework every day, is getting 10 hours of sleep even possible? If you wake up at 6 am every morning, that would require you to go to sleep at about 8 pm. By the time you got home from school, it would be about 4 pm, or 6 pm, depending on your after-school activity. You will then spend about three and a half hours studying and doing homework, and about one and a half hours eating dinner and showering. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an average high school student spends about two and a quarter hours on social media on top of all that. Adding these factors together, it would be simply unrealistic to sleep at 8 pm.

However, do the students at AISG get enough sleep?

Khushi Daswani, a 10th grader, said, “My sleeping habits have changed. In elementary school, I used to have more time [for] everything. However, I think I get enough sleep now. I get about 7-8 hours of sleep which is good. I try to manage my time, like doing my homework early, going to the gym and making sure I have good time management skills.” When asked for advice, she said, “Just be on time and be organized!”

Ishita Argawal, a freshman, said, “My sleeping habits decreased from elementary to high school. I used to sleep at 9, but now I sleep at 11:30 due to the copious amount of homework and after-school activities that take place. I believe that I do not get enough sleep as I am often tired.” She acknowledges the fact that sleep is essential to having a healthy lifestyle and is working on improving her sleeping habits.

The key to getting enough sleep is to organise your time wisely. Prioritise the important things such as projects, tests and homework before using social media and hanging out with friends. But while doing that, don’t forget to take care of yourself. This way, we can all live in a happier, more energetic environment.