When I walk into my first period class, I see students ignoring the teacher, listening to music, and laying their head on the desk. My classmates are always sleeping in class, barely awake, and struggling to focus on their assignments. The drowsy feeling many High school students experience in the morning comes from not getting enough sleep. Students waste valuable time they could be using to get their rest. They either scroll through social media, binge-watch their favorite TV shows at night, or distract themselves from going to sleep. Students need to change their habits in order to stop the effects of sleep deprivation.
According to the CDC, “Among high school students, 72.7% reported insufficient sleep, with about 20% reporting sleeping fewer than 6 hours a night.” As a student myself, I know that if I don’t get proper sleep I would be very sluggish throughout the day. The CDC recommends that teenagers get around 8-9 hours of sleep every night. This isn’t the case for many students. Based on the data from the CDC, many students don’t meet the recommended hours of sleep. Because students sleep less than 8-9 hours per day they drastically lower their performance in daily tasks at school. Things like class assignments and group projects will become more difficult for students to do. The declining performance rate of high school students will lead to less successful adults. Sleep is important for cognitive function and emotional stability. If students don’t prioritize their sleep they will have a difficult adulthood.
Sleep deprivation negatively impacts the performance of students. Sleeping late will reduce the cognitive function of high school students. On July 7, 2025, Hibha Khaja PharmD published an article on Psychiatry Advisor stating, “Sleep deprivation was linked to an increased risk of mood disorders, impaired cognitive performance, diminished academic success, and greater likelihood of self-harm.” This means that high school students develop mood fluctuation, learning difficulties, and trouble socializing. When students don’t get enough sleep small inconveniences would feel bigger than it needs to. Their irritability increases and relationships become harder to manage. Also, students have to learn to socialize with others because it will prevent them from developing antisocial behaviors that can affect them in adulthood. Some students might believe that being disciplined is enough to succeed as a student. Although it is true that discipline can help you in life, it doesn’t change the importance of sleep. If you don’t get the proper amount of sleep you need, you can’t work at your full potential, and you will limit how effective you can work.
In order to stop sleeping late, students should spend less time on their phones before they sleep. This will ensure that they don’t procrastinate the sleep they need. Another thing students should do to fix their sleeping habits is creating a sleeping schedule that can help them sleep on time.
The dangers of sleeping late are clear. It leads to cognitive decline, social regression, and emotional issues. Students are the future and they need to know that sleeping late is bad for them. If students ignore proper sleep, they risk permanent cognitive decline. They should prioritize sleeping 8-9 hours every day in order to succeed in school and life. The importance of sleep is clear, without it there is no proper future.
