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Real Life Nightmares

Going to the gym has been a big accomplishment of mine because of staying consistent

and prioritizing health. The feeling of small beads of sweat forming on my neck, while

technically an unpleasant feeling, provides a sense of accomplishment that nothing else does. In

order to exercise at the gym and arrange a productive daily schedule, I began working out in the

morning before school rather than in the afternoon in order to get other work done after school

every day. Obviously the intent was to become as healthy as possible by balancing time to

workout, get all assigned work done as well as maintain a social life, but this pattern ultimately

resulted in the worst outcome.

At the beginning of this schedule change, going to bed consistently at 8 PM and waking

up at 4:30 AM would result in the perfect amount of sleep for the upcoming day. After a few

weeks, though, it became harder to go to sleep consistently each night because of multiple

reasons, which included events that would go on late at night or not finishing homework by a

reasonable hour. Despite these obstacles, however, continuing to wake up at 4:30 is what I

believed to be the best choice.

Black circles started to form under my eyes, and they only got larger and more prominent

the longer this sleep schedule stayed in place. As time carried on, people started to ask, “Are you

okay?” and, “You don’t look like you feel too well!”. While these remarks were worrisome,

brushing them off was effortless because I was “being healthy” by working out every morning.

Nothing else mattered.

Falling asleep in class became a habit, and when my energy to do homework decreased,

the realization of necessary change struck me. Even attempting schoolwork was a struggle, and

efforts to be healthy actually ended up being the most detrimental thing for my well-being.

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While this was a big struggle itself, there are other activities that I have been guilty of

doing that seemed fine in the moment, but ended up being a stab in the back, such as staying out

late, doing homework until the early hours of the morning after procrastinating, and endlessly

scrolling until the clock hands quickly ticked to 3:00 AM. While staying up late used to sound

like an exciting idea, and did as a kid as well, it took the negative effects of sleep patterns to

know how to feel the best every day. Because of these hardships, the question entered my head:

How does the quantity and quality of sleep affect cognitive functions as well as overall behavior

and health in teenagers?

While the required amount of sleep for adolescents is around nine hours, many teenagers

are inadequate to fulfill this requirement, leading to impairments on their overall well-being.

Statistically, “According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens need between 8.5-9.25 hours of

sleep per night, with some laboratory data indicating that 9.2 hours is optimal” (George, et al.).

This is very important for teenagers to be aware of, but it needs more representation: “One in

four adolescents aged 11-18 reported sleeping less than the recommended 8-10 h a night [1]”

(Tougas, et al.). While the reason that teenagers are unable to receive enough sleep sometimes

has to do with the decisions of the individual, it mainly has to do with humans' natural circadian

rhythm, which is the rhythm at which the body wakes up in the morning and falls asleep in the

evening. If adolescents experience a phase shift in circadian processes, it can result in

“physiological change that drives staying up later at night and sleeping later in the morning [3]”

(Tougas, et al.), which throws off the natural rhythm and then prevents a consistent sleep pattern.

Though this is unfortunate, it cannot always be prevented, as there are lots of factors that go into

deciding when someone can go to sleep, such as school: “Especially for evening-types...the

desired bedtime on school evenings may be too early for their innate circadian rhythm”

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(Kortesoja, et al). School is just one of the many components that can affect a teenager’s

circadian rhythm, which also stands in importance next to sleep duration and sleep quality in

general. It’s important to remember that, “Sleep is, of course, essential to well-being; it is a

complex phenomenon with biophysiological, behavioral, and environmental components”

(George, et al.), and it can be detrimental for adolescent health to forget this.

A big part of getting sufficient sleep is to make sure the same bedtime is implemented

every night in order to keep a consistent sleep schedule, and this is possible with an intricate plan

that can be easily followed. While this is possible, however, many people are not able to achieve

this admirable goal, as “Stakeholders and adolescents themselves highlighted that variable

schedules due to school, extracurricular activities, social engagements, or employment interfere

with consistent bedtimes or obtaining a full night’s sleep” (Tougas, et al.). This seems to be a

major issue that inhibits people from going to sleep at a good time, which is contradictory to how

it is a crucial start to developing a sleep schedule that will result in well-restedness every day.

This makes it challenging for people who are busy with activity before bed to quickly fall asleep,

so it is crucial that, “Adolescents must learn how to unwind from the day’s activities, go to sleep

and wake up at the same time each day, and get the minimum recommended hours of sleep per

night” (George, et al.). This is the most efficient way to develop a consistent schedule, since

many components of the day before bedtime (such as school and extracurricular activities)

contribute to what time would be good to go to bed and the quality of sleep that could be

received. It is also quite important to know that receiving extra sleep is usually only beneficial if

one has already been on a consistent sleep schedule. Baker and others stated that, “additional

sleep may be most beneficial for adolescent restfulness when sleep patterns are relatively

consistent overall.” The best way to get more sleep is to go to bed at the same time every night

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so it is possible to feel rested, as “sleep consistency may be an especially important metric of

focus when considering adolescent health and well-being” (Baker, et al.). Many people mistake

the importance of sleep duration to be higher than sleep consistency, but this practice is not

looked into enough as it should be since it sets the foundation for the quality of sleep that can be

received.

Memories can be an important and special part of human life, yet the brain's ability to

remember certain things and “store files” can be easily prohibited with a lack of sleep. All the

components that go into human development take place during sleep, so when these hours are

missed, many human processes are prevented from developing further, such as memory creation.

Throughout her medical career, Kiran Singh, a pediatrics doctor at Kaiser Permanente,

has learned a lot about children’s health as a whole. Specifically, though, she has become an

expert in the way sleep affects adolescents and she learned a lot about the negative and positive

affects sleep can have on children and teenagers. She has her medical degree, certifying her

expertise in the subject, and Singh stated that, “Good quality sleep, at large, is your brain's way

of recharging and creating memories, so having a good quality of sleep improves your memory.”

Without this sufficient way of sleeping, people can miss out on potential memories that would

remain if their body had more time to develop it. The specific way that the brain makes this

work, though, is explained in TED Talk - Sleep is your superpower:

...you can think of the hippocampus almost like the informational inbox of your brain. It's

very good at receiving new memory files and then holding on to them. So it's almost as

though sleep deprivation had shut down your memory inbox, and any new incoming files

-- they were just being bounced. You couldn't effectively commit new experiences to

memory.

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The brain thrives off of sleep in many ways. In this case, the hippocampus cannot store

memories if it has not received enough sleep, eventually leading to the inability to recall certain

things. With inadequate sleep, instead of hearing information and learning it, the brain is only

able to forget about it.

Memory also influences the ability to learn, and a lack of sleep affects teenagers' ability

to learn and understand information as it inhibits the brain's productivity, making obtaining

information a lot more difficult. Part of the reason sleep is essential for the development of

knowledge is because, “...you need sleep after learning to essentially hit the save button on those

new memories so that you don't forget…you also need sleep before learning to actually prepare

your brain, almost like a dry sponge ready to initially soak up new information” (Sleep Is Your

Superpower). Most would typically think it is beneficial to get sleep the night before a big test,

for example, but it is also important to receive sufficient sleep that night as well, as more good

nights of sleep helps the brain function properly. When “you are more anxious, more irritable”,

which comes from lack of sleep, “it can inhibit your ability to concentrate” (Singh), which at

length, results in poorer academic performance. In addition, a lack of sleep not only affects

concentration, but affects motivation as well: “Among adolescents, getting less than 8 h of sleep

at night leads to increased sleepiness during the day,... and lower motivation to study”

(Kadzikowska-Wrzosek). Without adequate sleep, it is more difficult for adolescents to function

throughout the day, and can prevent motivation which would lead to unproductivity. Sleep is not

only needed to be able to learn material but also to want to learn material as well.

Because the brain is on its way to being fully developed during teenage years, sleep is

crucial during this time since it is when the brain grows to become the most productive it can be.

This is backed up by Kortesoja et al. when they state, “Considering what crucial periods

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childhood and adolescents are for brain development, sleep problems are a serious concern.” The

way the brain develops during teenage years determines its functionality for the future, so it's

important to get sufficient sleep at the time it is most important. During adolescent years, the

brain develops in ways that influence the rest of human life, such as impacting overall

intelligence and the ability to retain information, so sleep as a teenager is crucial for success. It is

also stated that, “Sleep seems to be particularly important during periods of brain maturation.

(...maturing individuals sleep more than fully mature individuals)” (Dahl). This implies that

maturing individuals need more sleep than full-grown adults in order for beneficial brain

development to occur.

Sometimes while it does not seem like a big deal to get little amounts of sleep, it can

actually lead to overarching health concerns, and can make it harder for the body to function

correctly. It was explained in the Sleep Is Your Superpower TED Talk that, “those genes that

were switched off by a lack of sleep”, which is DNA genetic code, “were genes associated with

your immune system, so once again, you can see that immune deficiency.” Every component of

the human body is important, but immune health is critical to avoiding illness and overall future

health problems. The more sleep received, the more the body is able to restore itself and prevent

these issues. The relation between good sleep and overall health also works in the contrast

regarding functionality throughout the day, as, “Participants were also consistently aware of the

connection between regular physical activity and healthy sleep, with one stakeholder identifying

‘if they get active and exhausted, when they come home, they will crash and get that much

needed sleep'’” (Tougas, et al.). Having enough energy to be active during the day allows for

weariness which leads to receiving adequate sleep later that night, which then encourages a

consistent sleep pattern. Ultimately, being idle throughout the day can influence a bad sleep

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schedule, and not obtaining enough sleep inhibits the capability to gain the energy to do

anticipated activities during the day. Overall, “...reduced amount of sleep has a negative effect

on… the immune and hormonal systems, and on metabolism” (Kadzikowska-Wrzosek), and

these are just some of the negative effects that lack of sleep can have on overall body functions

and health.

Everyone loves to be treated with kindness, yet emotions and behaviors towards others

can become hard to control while running off of little sleep, even if it goes unnoticed. Clearly,

“...it was confirmed that adolescents’ sleep problems had a negative effect on their social

relationships… and were related to an increased risk of emotional problems, more difficulty

controlling aggressive behavior,...” (Kadzikowska-Wrzosek). Even if someone is typically a kind

person, the body is not capable of functioning properly without adequate sleep which can result

in random types of behavior, such as these negative ones. Regarding uncontrollable aggressive

behavior, sometimes the consequences are so serious that, “...sleep-deprived teens were more

likely to engage in physical fighting” (George, et al.), which highlights the concerning

correlation between behavior and inadequate sleep in adolescents and how negative effects of

little sleep can intensify so easily. It is pivotal to feel good in order to be on the best behavior,

which can be accomplished by getting enough sleep. Overall, “There is clear evidence that sleep

loss can lead to the development or exacerbation of behavioral and emotional problems” (Dahl).

It is important to get good sleep in order to prevent emotional difficulties which could then

prevent potential harm to people.

Mental disorders are a very widely-dealt-with issue all over the world, many of the

victims being teenagers, and many people are unaware that sleep can be a major contributor. By

looking specifically at the correlation between amount of sleep and mental problems, “...surveys

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reveal that adolescents who get less than 6 ¾ hours of sleep each school night or report more

than a two-hour difference between school night and weekend bedtimes have a higher level of

complaints of depressed mood than adolescents who get more sleep or who sleep on more

regular sleep/wake schedules” (Dahl). The direct connection between depressed mood and lack

of sleep proves the importance of giving your body the necessary amount of hours of sleep to

prevent symptoms of depression, especially since it was found that, “...sleep-deprived teens were

more likely to seriously consider suicide…” (George, et al.). In order to protect the youth in

today’s society, there needs to be a change in the average amount of sleep received for the sake

of adolescent well-being, because not only does little sleep influence depressive personalities,

but, “Serious sleep restriction (down to about 6 h) is related to interpersonal problems, lower life

satisfaction, lower self-esteem, higher levels of anxiety and depression, and amore frequent

incidents of drug use” (Kadzikowska-Wrzosek). There are many health factors that can be

impeded on in teenagers who do not receive enough sleep, so prioritizing sufficient quality of

sleep in adolescents is key to the implementation of good sleep patterns and therefore reducing

severity of mental disorders.

The quantity and quality of sleep significantly impacts the cognitive and behavioral

functions of adolescents, and it does so in many complex ways. The importance of sleep in

teenagers cannot be over-amplified, as it is a critical period for brain development, memory

consolidation, emotional regulation, and more. Sleep is a major contributor to our functionality,

and it is important to live life to the fullest. Ultimately, this means getting consistent and

adequate sleep.

The circadian rhythm is a natural process humans undergo that lets the body know when

it is time to wake up and when it is time for bed, and this is not to be interrupted; however, many

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teenagers do not get the required amount of sleep each night. Adolescents tend to have late

bedtimes which can be a major contributor to inconsistent sleep and disruption in the circadian

rhythm.

When sleep is hindered in adolescents, it is important to know the ways it affects the

body, as well as how it is easier to get beneficial sleep when there is a good schedule in place,

allowing consistency. The main reason it is necessary to get good sleep as a teen though, is

because of brain development: Teenage brains are on the way to being fully developed, but they

can only progress during nights if adequate sleep is received: Sleep is very important.

The most crucial factor that is affected by the quantity and quality of sleep in adolescents

is the physical health of the human body and its ability to function. When not enough sleep is

received, multiple body functions can be disrupted, especially the immune system. It can also

simply make it too difficult to have energy throughout the day to participate in any variation of

activity. Good sleep provides energy throughout the day, leading to the ability to engage in any

venture which will then decrease energy in order for a good night sleep. At length, the key to

being happy, healthy, and able to function throughout the day comes from good quality and

quantity of sleep.

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Works Cited

Baker, et al. "Sleep Variability over a 2-week Period Is Associated with Restfulness and Intrinsic

Limbic Network Connectivity in Adolescents." Sleep, vol. 46, no. 2, 2023. ProQuest

Central Student, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac248.

Dahl, Ronald E. "The Consequences of Insufficient Sleep for Adolescents: Links between Sleep

and Emotional Regulation." The Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 80, no. 5, 1999, pp. 354-59.

JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20439447. Accessed 14 Feb. 2024.

George, Nancy M., and Jean E. Davis. "Assessing Sleep in Adolescents through a

Better Understanding of Sleep Physiology." The American Journal of Nursing,

vol. 113, no. 6, 2013, pp. 26-32. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24466109.

Accessed 6 Mar. 2024.

Kadzikowska-Wrzosek, Romana. "Insufficient Sleep among Adolescents: The Role of

Bedtime Procrastination, Chronotype and Autonomous Vs. Controlled

Motivational Regulations." Current Psychology, vol. 39, no. 3, June 2020,

p. 1031+. Gale in Context: Biography, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A626005653/

BIC?u=waln177103&sid=bookmark-BIC&xid=6c1786c4. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024.

Kortesoja, Laura, et al. "Late-Night Digital Media Use in Relation to Chronotype, Sleep and

Tiredness on School Days in Adolescence." Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 52,

no. 2, 2023, pp. 419-33. eLibrary; ProQuest Central Student,

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01703-4.

Singh, Kiran. Personal interview with the author. 29 February 2024.

Sleep Is Your Superpower. TED, www.ted.com/talks/matt_walker_sleep_is_your_superpower.

Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

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Tatar, Dominika, et al. "How Do Teenagers Sleep? Analysis of Factors Related to Sleep

Disorders in a Group of Polish High School Students." BMC Pediatrics, vol. 23, 2023,

pp. 1-8. Publicly Available Content Database,

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-023-04327-0.

Tougas, Michelle, et al. "Focus Groups to Inform User-Centered Development of an EHealth

Sleep Intervention for Adolescents: Perspectives of Youth with Insomnia Symptoms, with

and without Pain." Children, vol. 10, no. 10, 2023, p. 1692. Publicly Available Content

Database, https://doi.org/10.3390/children10101692.

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