Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

The common teenager will spend a period of time on their cell phone or other electronic device before going to bed. They tend to keep their phones near them and within reach. However, nightly screen time significantly degrades your quality of sleep. Looking at a bright screen in a dark room keeps your brain alert and hinders the need to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. Because of this substantial and ongoing issue, many high school students are noticeably tired and irritable during the school day and are more prone to falling asleep during class.

Because technology has become a fundamental aspect in our daily lives, it is hard to resist the urge to use them throughout the course of the day, especially before going to bed. Teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep per night, but a study by the National Sleep Foundation reported that only 15% of teenagers get an adequate amount of sleep. Deficient sleep leads to poor academic performances, irritability, and lack of concentration. Younger people are more likely to to keep their phones within their reach, such as on a nightstand, which increases the temptation to go on social media when you should be asleep. One of the main reasons phones are kept in arms reach while sleeping is to use the phone as an alarm clock in the morning. But is the use of an alarm worth losing hours of sleep?

Leaving electronics in a different room or just simply out of reach will help regulate your sleep cycle and allow your brain to relax. A survey conducted by PBS shows that most teenagers tend to immediately reach for their phones if they wake up in the middle of the night. The blue light emitted by the phone disrupts sleep cycles and suppresses sleep hormones. Therefore, leaving your phone out of reach will benefit your health and help you feel refreshed in the morning, rather than tired and moody. Using electronics before bed is very harmful, but acting accordingly will help improve quality of sleep, and consequently, quality of life.

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