There are twenty four hours in a day, and six hours are taken up by school. Depending on what you do after school, seven hours are occupied by homework, a job, or after-school activities. As the hours add up, there is less and less time for social activities and even essential activities — like showering, eating, and most importantly, sleeping.

One hundred students from Scituate High School participated in a survey about their homework load, weekly jobs, after school activities, and sleeping habits. Results of the survey indicate the average amount of sleep SHS students get per night is about six hours and fifteen minutes. According to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the average student needs between nine and nine and a half hours of sleep each night. Since the average SHS student is missing three hours of recommended sleep per night, some students may be suffering from lack of sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, a lack of sleep “limits the ability to learn, listen, concentrate and solve problems.”

SHS school nurse Ellen Claffin said students come to the nurse’s office regularly because of exhaustion or lack of sleep. “I see students who say they are tired from lack of sleep,” said Claffin. In addition, nearly half of the students surveyed said they would like to get ten hours of sleep  per night. Fifty percent of the participating students said they have after school jobs and activities. On average, students spend three hours per day playing sports, participating in clubs, or working at their jobs.  Students who plays sports five or six days a week spend anywhere from fifteen to eighteen hours per week just on sports.

Lack of sleep can contribute to health problems. According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), “Teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns across the week — they typically stay up late and sleep in late on the weekends, which can affect their biological clocks and hurt the quality of their sleep.” NSF research shows poor sleeping habits can lead to aggressive or inappropriate behavior. Other behaviors, such as poor eating habits, can also be attributed to sleep deficits. The NSF recognizes that teens are becoming stressed out and anxious due to lack of sleep. To help with these developing problems, the NSF recommends that students establish healthy sleep habits early on and try to make sleep a priority over other less essential activities.