What Happens if You Don’t Get Enough Sleep?

                                                                                               -By Eyal Duressa

Many students all over the world complain about lack of sleep due to school all the time, but does sleeping enough really matter for students? Our CPM nurse Lauren Bopp had some information on that topic.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other sources claim that students’ or teens’ lack of sleep can lead to poor grades, anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts and/or attempts. Lauren Bopp had more specific examples such as short-term effects being, “It can make you  jittery, very irritable, you can lose focus, and your attention span decreases.” Long-term effects consist of decreasing your memory because your memory cells don’t get enough time to recharge overnight, increasing the risk of cardiac issues, and neurodevelopmental or gut problems.

She also informs us, “If you are under 12 they recommend 10-13 hours a night (of sleep), but if you’re over 12 they recommend 8-10 hours a night,” which is information confirmed by the NIH online website.

The NIH had some recommendations on how to sleep better, such as avoiding naps in the afternoon, keeping your room at a comfortable temperature, and using low lighting in the afternoon. Our nurse, Lauren Bopp, recommends that students should set a nightly routine, get off any devices at least an hour before going to bed, journal, listen to music, read, do breathwork, or guided meditation to relax their body. Do not eat or drink anything but water for two hours before going to bed.

She also talks about the benefits of sleep by saying, “They’re endless: you’ll stay younger-looking, you will have better focus, better memory, you’ll be more active, you’ll have more energy, you’ll be a more positive happy person. It increases your musculoskeletal health if you give yourself good relaxation, increases your gut health, all of those things.”

She also had some last words to tell students: “Having a healthy sleep routine is really important and the earlier that you start it, it can get your body into a groove, the better it’s gonna be as you get older and especially when you’re in high school and you wanna do fun things you should get proper sleep.”