Are Students Getting Enough Sleep?

Max Barajas | Editor

Picture this, you have an 8:00 a.m. class, and your alarm starts to go off around 6:30 a.m. You wake up and feel so groggy and exhausted. You can’t wait to go back to sleep as soon as you wake up. I can recount numerous times when I couldn’t wait to just jump back into my bed as soon as I woke up in the morning.

We’re tasked with so many responsibilities, more stress as we get older, and it makes it harder for us to maintain a good sleeping schedule. Sometimes, we just choose to go to sleep later at night, and that’s fine. I’m personally a night owl; I do not like getting up early.

According to a study from the National Institutes of Health, 70% of college students reported sleeping under 8 hours a night, and 80% of these students stated that this negatively affects their performance in school.

Factors in our life make it incredibly hard for us to get a proper amount of sleep. I personally find it tough to get a full amount of sleep, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. It’s not the full 8-9 hours that medical reports say we should get every night.

A reason we don’t sleep enough at night is technology. The blue light that’s emitted from screens is bad for us because our body won’t release enough melatonin before bed, and it’ll make us less tired. I often find it hard to put my phone away before bed, and I always try to do some reading and stay away from screens before bed. Sometimes, it’s hard to do so.

A way we can help ourselves get enough rest includes putting our phones away at least an hour before bed. Staying away from blue light right before sleep can help the body release melatonin and help you go to bed earlier. Another way to help get enough rest is to avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed. I usually try to avoid it after 6 or 7:00 p.m., or else it’ll keep me awake at night.

How are we supposed to maintain an 8–9-hour sleep schedule, especially when we’re not in college? Not just us students, but adults, too?