In a random survey of 90 Essex High School students, 50 percent of students reported that they do not get enough sleep during the school week. 

One question in the survey prompted students to share how many hours of sleep they think they should get.

Eighty students said they believe that the range of seven to ten hours of sleep is what they should have each night; this is similar to what the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends. They suggested that kids from 13 to 18 years of age should sleep eight to ten hours. 

Mohammad Qashou, an EHS senior, sleeps for approximately 4.5 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays because he has fencing in the late evening and workouts in the morning. 

“I have more time to sleep on the weekends,” Qashou said. 

Many students tend to sleep later and longer on weekends than during weekdays.

Liban Dahir, a senior at the Center for Technology, Essex, sleeps between ten to 12 hours every week night. On the weekends, however, Dahir stays up until 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 a.m. in the morning and wakes up at five in the morning to go to work.

“It’s even worse on weekends because I don’t have school the next day, and I stay up later,” Dahir said. 

Fifty percent of those surveyed said that phones are what cause them to not get enough sleep. 

“Screen Time Affecting Sleep,” an article published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, indicated that having a bedtime schedule and avoiding any screen time an hour before bedtime can help students get more sleep and better quality sleep. 

“Get off your phone,” Emma Airoldi, EHS junior, said. “I keep mine outside my room, so I’m not tempted to go on it at night, and I think it’s really helpful when it comes to my sleep.” 

Some students also have sleep disorders that cause them to not be able to fall asleep easily.  

“For me, it is not easy for me to fall asleep at night or in the middle of the night because I have insomnia,” one 9th grader said in their survey response. 

The same student said they sleep deeply and tend to only wake up in the middle of the night a couple of times throughout the week. 

Poor sleep can affect students’ behavior and concentration during the day.

 “Psychosocial Correlates of Insomnia Among College Students,” published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, indicated that poor sleep can affect student’s irritability, depression, confusion, life satisfaction, and academic performance.

“To have a good night’s sleep, it depends on whether you are willing to put in the effort,” one 12th grade survey participant said.