After managing to finish school, academies, and the piles of homework, students fall asleep far more later than when an average teenager is supposed to. So, why should only kindergarteners get nap time? In my opinion, middle and high schoolers deserve more sleep than the younger to keep a daily cycle and a healthy growth process. Due to the less amount of sleep, students not only fail to concentrate in class, but also is critical to our health as a growing teenager. In addition, schools should provide time for all students to sleep during the school hours.

To start with, the most important aspect is that less sleep can affect our growth and health. As we start going through puberty, an average body of a teen needs at least eight hours of sleep (Zuckerman). Without getting enough sleep, our biological circadian rhythms would change, which would affect our daily routine and growth process. Also, our brains and bodies won’t be doing as well without enough sleep. For example, the day after I stay up late and sleep less than 5 hours, I always have a hard time keeping my eyes open the rest of the day. During my classes, it feels as if the teacher is speaking another language. I can clearly hear the teacher speaking, but after the explanation is finished, my mind is completely blank. Students who get 5 hours of sleep or less would function just like someone who stayed up 48 hours after getting 7 hours of sleep on a regular cycle (J.A., Mindell). Related to this, students that get less sleep have a higher possibility to get obese. When we don’t get enough sleep, as normal teenagers, our bodies go through hormone changes that make us more tired and hungry. Obesity can be crucial to a student’s health because it develops health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. If schools provide time for students to sleep at school, it would help us keep up at school and stay healthy.

Lastly, less sleep can affect our daily cycles and concentration at school. By breaking my daily routines, I find it more difficult for me to concentrate in class. After getting only 4 hours of sleep in average for almost a month, I realised that keeping up with my normal daily cycle is extremely important. Ever since my circadian rhythms changed, my grades seem to get lower because I can’t concentrate as much as when I used to sleep earlier and get more sleep. I understand that teachers and parents expect students to focus on education and grades at school, but nothing is possible without enough sleep. Rather than that, a teenager needs sleep for both mental and physical growth, which is much more important than grades at school.

A plentiful amount sleep is extremely important to all students our age. To prevent falling asleep or the lack of concentration during class, rather than punishing or scolding students for sleeping, giving us time to sleep and rest for a while would help both our physical and mental health. Parents and teachers now should be informed that in order to have good grades and a balanced school life, students need plenty of sleep.