By TYLER SIEGMANN with research assistance by CAROLINE GROSS
Jericho High School students aren’t sleeping as much as they should. This lack of sleep affects students’ health, level of focus, and performance in school.
A survey of 188 Jericho High School students revealed that 40% of students find themselves tired all 5 days of the school week. To cope with lack of sleep, many students feel the need to leave class. Jericho High School nurse Ms. Reshef explained that some students resort to going to the health office to catch up on sleep. In fact, she said, “At least two students come to take a nap each day.”
The survey results reveal that 21% of students receive less than five hours of sleep per night. However, pediatrician from Next Generation Pediatrics in Jericho Dr. Mary Ellen Renna said, “Teenagers need more than 7 or 8 hours of sleep to function properly; they really need about 9.”
Dr. Renna informs her patients about the importance of getting the proper amount of sleep. “If children don’t sleep, they can develop a lot of symptoms such as snoring, ADHD symptoms, and problems focusing,” she said.
Clearly Jericho students are not meeting this recommendation. The students surveyed said they stay up late on school nights due to a variety of reasons. Many respondents reported that their phones are what keep them up at night. Sophomore Brandon L. frequently gets distracted by technology. “I stay up at night because of my phone, which gets in the way of me falling asleep,” he said. Similarly, Junior Hallie G. said, “My phone keeps me up at night, especially the app Tik Tok.”
Other students reported that homework and studying keep them awake. Junior Brooke M. said, “The main factor of me being so tired is the amount of homework I have which keeps me up.” Additionally, Junior Lexi A. said, “My phone and homework keep me up at night, mostly the heavy workload I have, which gets in the way of me going to sleep.”
Teachers expressed concern about their students’ lack of sleep. Health teacher Ms. Romano explained that students go to sleep late due to the heavy workload. She would like to see her pupils work more efficiently when possiblle. “I think some students don’t work smarter, they work harder than they need to,” she said.
Other teachers were surprised about students’ lack of sleep since Jericho starts later than most other high schools. While most schools start sometime from 7:30-8:00 a.m., Jericho High School starts at 9:00, giving students more time to sleep in. Assistant Principal Dr. Artiles hopes students take advantage of the additional two hours additional to “get up at 7:30 or 8:00 and still make it on time.”
Dr. Renna advises teenagers to make sleep a priority and to wind down a bit before bedtime. She said, “Teens should get off all electronics at least 2 hours before they go to bed so they can get a better night’s sleep and go to bed earlier.” Dr. Renna stresses how important sleep is now and for the future. She said, “If you want to succeed later in life, you have to take the time, especially during your teenage years, to focus and do well.” Hopefully, Jericho students will use this advice to improve their sleep patterns.