Sleep deprivation in kids:
The excessive load of homework and early start of school timings is the main cause of sleep deprivation and subsequent stress in kids. While the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that pre-teens need 9 to 12 hours and teens should be getting 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night, research has concluded that 73% of school students do not have a healthy sleep cycle. Sleep deficiency can badly influence a kid’s well-being in several ways involving excessive irritability, sleepiness and stress like symptoms. Our society now values activity more than the importance of sleep. Kids are constantly being told that they have to be on the top always, no matter what. Either way, the result is an ever-narrowing window for sleep in students.
Along with homework burden, the more obvious hormonal fluctuations that transform your child into a teen, are alterations in the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Both these factors when combined together are negatively impacting a kid’s healthy sleep schedule, research says that, effectively kids are in a different time zone than the rest of us.
Early School Start Timings:
Very early starting times of schools are not uncommon, regardless of the fact that they run completely against the biological needs of kids. Multiple studies have shown that high school students are not functional before 9 am, yet they are supposed to get up pretty early, say at 5:00am to get ready and to catch the school bus so as to reach the school by 7:00am. The schools usually end by 2:00pm and kids reach homes by 3:00pm they barely get time to get involved in extracurricular and recreational activities and then they have to stick to homework which lasts longer than it should. The homework tasks are so excessive and they consume way too much time that consequently it gets really late for kids to go to bed after it, especially if they prefer to watch TV and like to play games after home work.
Excessive homework:
There is an insight that homework loads are excessive. Kids and teenagers have hours and hours of homework every night which is the prominent cause of their sleep deprivation. This seems most common in teenagers who are struggling to get into competitive colleges. According to a survey of American teenagers about one-third of all kids spend 20 or more hours a week doing homework. This is much more than the time they get to spend at school clubs, sports and other extra-curricular activities. According to the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America’s Survey, during the school year, when kids were asked about what causes stress in their lives? About 70% of them said grades/test scores and/or homework. (74%) of kids reported that they experience stress levels higher than adults, as they sacrifice their sleep to spend extra time on homework.
Consequences of sleep deprivation:
Consequences of disturbed sleep schedule include excessive irritability, sleepiness at school, trouble concentrating, disinterest even in interesting activities and symptoms of depression. It’s pretty simple if your kids seem disinterested, drowsy and disturbed they might not be getting enough sleep. Sleep cycle, along with many parents and teens, is now pushing for a change to schooling policy.