Not meeting the required hours of sleep for a teenager is detrimental to one’s health. However, obtaining the full eight to ten hours has been proven time and time again to be difficult for high school students. Between homework, upcoming tests, sports, extracurriculars, and jobs, too little of the day is left to sleep and decompress, is an issue for most students. 

A consistent lack of sleep impacts a student’s performance in school and throughout the entire day. Those who have not had enough sleep tend to be tired, irritable, stressed, and unfocused. This can then impact the students’ work quality, leading to an eventual drop in grades. 

While sleep deprivation tends to be prevalent in students throughout the entirety of the school year, there is an additional factor currently driving students to be exceedingly tired. As of November 3rd, Daylight Savings ended for the 2024 year, imposing a major impact on students’ mental and physical health, as well as mood and attentiveness. Noticeably, it has been getting brighter outside earlier, but darker outside sooner as well, as clocks have been set back one hour. 

With a combination of the colder months arriving and Daylight Savings terminating, students have reported a drastic increase in their tiredness throughout the day. 

When asked if Daylight Savings has had an impact on levels of drowsiness during the day, Abby Wolkow ‘27 said, “It definitely has—I feel tired as soon as the sun goes down and then I check the time and it’s 6pm”. Reportedly, students have been feeling tired earlier than normal, as when the sun sets, it feels much later than it actually is. 

This drowsiness earlier in the evening has not caused students to get more sleep, but to feel even more exhausted. With various homework assignments and upcoming tests, especially with no long break until Spring Break, staying up late and working or studying is still a general requirement. Daylight savings has not changed that, it has only changed how students feel and then perform. 

While whether or not students are getting the amount of sleep they need can be heavily debated, it is imperative to recognize how to face an insufficiency of sleep and overcome fatigue. 

Getting the required hours of sleep, eight to ten, truly is needed for high school students. While those who suffer from sleep deprivation note feeling tired and unfocused during the school day, those who do get adequate sleep report very contradictory results. 

Maggie Flaherty, a sophomore who sleeps on average eight hours each school night noted, “I feel more refreshed so I know I can concentrate more and do better”. Flaherty also commented on how getting her full eight hours of sleep allows her to feel less stressed when entering the school building. As a result, getting adequate sleep does have extremely positive effects on health. 

Countering that, Dr. Walker, a guidance counselor at Bernards, suggests multiple methods to try and get at least eight hours of sleep each night by, mapping out when you can get work done, working on assignments during free lunch blocks, and reducing outside distractions when actually completing work so it can be done efficiently. Additionally, Dr. Walker has tips on what to do if you do fall into an amount of sleep deprivation: prioritizing essential tasks, rearranging your schedule, taking a power nap, and sticking to a schedule that works for you. These tips will be extremely helpful for students to recover from sleep deprivation as well as avoid falling into sleep deprivation in the first place. 

When students do not follow a schedule that works for them and fall into the loop of not sleeping enough, consequences arise, such as negative impacts on academic performance, memory retention and concentration, as well as mood, depression, and anxiety. These effects can be detrimental to students’ health and learning ability.  

Though winter is approaching, students should make efforts to follow Dr. Walker’s tips and remain healthy and rested.