HERSHEY-- Zozan, a junior high school student, finds herself in Mr. Swavelys class feeling the warmth of her eyelids closing. She is not awakened again till she hears the sounds of the period bell ringing, and students leaving the class. She scrambles to get her backpack and the rest of her unwritten physics notes. Her quick rest that costed her today’s lesson didn’t help her drowsiness. To make it worse, she knows this isn’t the last time she’ll do it again.

Zozan is just one person out of the many students that have been finding it difficult to get enough sleep and function during the day. Many think the problem is going to bed early, but little do they know that their real problem is closer to their fingertips.

Students here have always heard the long lecture on the importance of sleep, with many thinking they have it down. Most would say they go to bed at the time where they will get more than 8 hours of sleep. Others go to bed just to get the bare minimum of sleep. Enough to wake up, and function throughout their day. So, why is it that there are still so many students with their face down on the desks? Surely the preparations the students said they have made would help lessen the scenes of drowsy students in the classroom. “Many of times I’ve fallen asleep in class, and my teachers don’t really like that,” said Zozan.

The problem is technology, more specifically is smartphones. More than 50% of high school students have one. For students who don't have smartphones, there are plenty of easy ways to access one. Not to mention other types of technology like tablets, TVs, and laptops.

So how does this affect students sleep? It affects the students mind, more specifically a hormone called melatonin. This hormone is released in your brain to help you sleep and control your sleep cycle (or “internal clock”). Melatonin is disrupted in the brain from the light that is given off from your device. The brain is tricked to see this as natural light like the sun, but its “artificial” light. So the brain starts to release very little to no melatonin. Thus giving the student a more difficult time falling asleep.

A survey conducted of 2 groups consisting of ten students undertook a sleep test. One group was allowed to have access to any type of technology; while the other was not allowed to have any access to technology. For 5 days, both groups went to bed and recorded their experiences in the morning. The results were obvious. Students who went to bed with tech had a hard time falling asleep and found it difficult to wake up in the morning. They also found it very difficult to do simple problems and think clearly. Some have even reported that they had fallen asleep in class Those who slept without tech had a better time getting up in the morning feeling refreshed. They were able to think clearly and solve complex problems.

School nurse, Tara Blackburn, is among the first teachers to see this epidemic. She believes that all this internet and technology will be some of these students’ downfall, due to the fact that students are going long periods time without sleep. Even she admits to answering any calls or texts she gets at night.  " Tech is a great thing, but we need to use it in moderation", says Blackburn. Short term effects consist of anxiety, easily distracted, stressed relationships, etc.  But over time this can escalate to even worse problems like depression, stroke, high blood pressure, obesity, etc.

Sleep is something very important to students going through their stage of growth in their life. Getting enough sleep is helping your body function properly for you. S you can achieve great heights in both school and at home. Can you give up the late night internet surfing? Many think this something that is easy to get over, but the students here can assure you it's not. " I would go crazy if I did", says Zozan.