“Snoring.” “Yawn.” These are the sounds heard in a classroom full of sleep deprived high school teens. With all the homework and after school activities including sports, clubs, work, and babysitting, teens end up going to bed closer to midnight than most might imagine. 

Even though teens seem like they have a lot of energy, in truth they really do not.  So the question is “How much sleep do teens actually need?” According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) teens preferably need “8-10 hours”of sleep every night and teenagers should not get too much more or less than the recommended amount.

In order for adolescents to get enough sleep the NSF argues they must make sleep a priority.  Recommendations for a solid night’s sleep include making the room quiet and dark.  These conditions are necessary because any lights or slight noises will trigger something in your brain.  It is also recommended to avoid using any electronic devices or drink sodas before bed, and establish consistent wake and bed times.  

According to the NSF, sleep is an active period in which a lot of important processing, restoration, and strengthening occurs.  One of the vital roles of sleep is to help us solidify and consolidate memories.  So in order for teen students to be able to reach their full capacities they must get enough sleep or they cut their chances significantly. 

Our brains take in an incredible amount of information. Rather than being directly logged and recorded, however, these facts and experiences first need to be processed and stored; and many of these steps happen while we sleep. Overnight, bits and pieces of information are transferred from short-term memory to a more permanent long-term memory.  Researcher shows that after people sleep, they tend to retain information and perform better on memory tasks.  Therefore, growing adolescents need sleep in order to do their best in school.  Without proper sleep, they will inevitably fall short of their potentials. 

In addition, humans need sleep to maintain physical health.  Our bodies all require long periods of sleep in order to rejuvenate, to grow muscle, repair tissue, and synthesize hormones.  The NSF clearly states the effects of inadequate sleep:  a person will show signs of aggressive and inappropriate behavior, the ability to learn, concentrate and solve problems will diminish.  Also people do not get the required amount of sleep will often forget important vital information, like dates, names, and landmarks.  For young people, physical health should not be taken for granted, but guarded and preserved.  Doing something as simple as getting proper rest is essential in doing this.

Lack of sleep over an extended period time will result in impaired learning, school performance, emotional problems, and poor health including obesity.