The Importance of Sleep

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Sleep plays a vital role in physical well-being, mental health, and academic performance. AP exams are right around the corner, and instead of pulling all-nighters, students should go to bed. 

The recommended amount of sleep for teens is around 8-10 hours per night. I asked a couple of students at the high school, and on average, they get around 7 hours of sleep each night, which is actually pretty impressive. 

According to studies performed across the nation, 73% of high schoolers are sleep-deprived. Many of these students blame this on the school’s early start times and their phones. It is recommended to avoid any blue light from phones or computers 30-60 minutes before sleeping. This can be hard for many students to follow, so instead, they should put their devices on night mode or use blue light filters. This will help their brain start winding down. Blue light sends a signal to the brain that it’s still daytime. This makes it hard for many students to fall asleep. Once the circadian rhythm is off, it’s hard to get it back on track again. 

Another aspect that has been growingly popular is energy drinks. Many students drink caffeine throughout the day. I asked some students how many energy drinks they consume, and the average was one can a day with about 200 mg of caffeine. Some students responded and said they consume three cans a day- that’s 600 mg of caffeine! Caffeine stays in our system for up to eight hours. Students should try to limit the amount of caffeine they consume once mid-afternoon hits. 

Many students think that staying up late to study will help them achieve the test scores they want. This is not true. Studies show that students tend to do better if they go to sleep early and wake up early to study. The human brain learns better with sleep. Sleep allows the brain to remember what you’ve studied. When the brain is asleep, the hippocampus is busy turning what you’ve learned into memories. Staying up late might help you learn more, but you run the risk of not remembering as much. You’ll retain less of the information. Staying up late can also affect your focus during the test the following day. Since you’re tired, your brain isn’t at its peak. It’ll think slower, and you’ll make more mistakes. Of course, there are exceptions to this. If you truly tend to work better at night, late-night studying can work, but it’s still important not to sacrifice sleep. You should try and get seven hours of sleep at least. 

So, as AP exams roll around, get your studying done ahead of time and try not to procrastinate. Also, make sure you get your sleep in to perform your best!