In today’s age, high school students aren’t getting enough sleep to keep up with demands of everyday life. Lack of sleep can affect you mentally and physically, making it extremely hard to perform to the best of your ability academically or athletically. 

Getting the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep every night has numerous benefits, from your physical energy levels to your mental well being. Sleep is the best way for you to improve how you feel.

For teens, getting the recommended amount of sleep is crucial for their mental and physical development. During the teenage years, sleep benefits brain development and function, which enhances attention span and improves memory and cognitive abilities. Sleep also contributes to your physical development, due to the fact that your body recovers while you sleep.

“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” – Thomas Dekker

Getting a sufficient amount of sleep can also help boost your overall mood. Sleep deprivation can increase stress, anxiety, and mood swings, making it crucial for teens to prioritize sufficient rest. Without proper sleep, adolescents may struggle to regulate emotions effectively, leading to increased irritability and difficulty coping with daily challenges.

With all these issues caused by lack of sleep, it is hard to keep up with day to day life. Especially as a high school student, sleep deprivation can greatly affect your performance. You are expected to show up every day ready to learn and challenge yourself, and without sleep you are not able to reach your full potential.

”Most nights I get around six hours of sleep. I wake up feeling tired, but I usually just drink an energy drink and feel fine.” – Seth Rennecker ‘26

Although many teens just consume some sort of caffeine in the morning to wake themselves up, it is not healthy for your body in the long run. Every so often having some caffeine to compensate for lack of sleep is okay, but if you consistently just rely on caffeine instead of actual sleep you’ll end up affecting yourself negatively. Making a habit of not sleeping enough will permanently affect your development mentally, physically, and emotionally.

“Sleep is an investment in the energy you need to be effective tomorrow.” – Tom Roth

Sleep is arguably the most important factor in our everyday life. The average person spends a third of their life sleeping. It is also by far the most controllable factor when it comes to improving our health. So next time you plan on staying up on your phone talking with friends, remember how much more important being well rested is.