When some people wake up, they feel refreshed, ready for the day. Others may feel a bit disoriented, not quite ready to hit the ground running just yet. But what orientates that? It’s clear different people will have different sleep schedules that work for them, and their grades, but what can happen if they haven’t figured that out yet?
Those who go to bed at later times, may find themselves feeling more awake in the morning than those who go to bed earlier. This is because of an alertness-boosting hormone called cortisol, which can raise adrenaline levels. Hence, the misguided feeling of stimulation.
“You may feel more energy on less sleep because your body’s producing more stress hormones,” Sleep Doctor Chester Wu said. “This helps you get through the day, but it’s not a good productivity hack.”
Sleep deprivation is never a good thing to have. It can lead to anxiety, a lack of motivation, and so much more. While feeling more awake and ready in the morning may feel good at first, the lasting effects are not worth it in the long run.
“I feel like eight hours of sleep is definitely a healthy amount.” eighth grader Brooklynn Pfluger said. “It helps us be less tired and annoyed in the mornings, and more focused when we need to be.”
Poor sleep can also impact someone’s mental stability. It slows reaction time, and can overall decrease the state of someone’s mental health. This can, evidently, lead to a decrease in the students’ grades. Which commonly decreases their mental health more.
“It is simply more difficult to concentrate when we are sleep deprived;” a Harvard University professor said. “This affects our ability to focus on and gather information presented to us, and our ability to remember even those things we know we have learned in the past.”
Air temperature, noise levels, and lights are all factors that need to be taken into account when someone may be trying to sleep. If these are at levels that may make someone uncomfortable, they may have trouble sleeping, or staying asleep. When someone repetitively wakes up at night, it makes them feel more exhausted in the morning because they could feel like they’ve gotten less sleep.
“I like sleeping somewhere relatively quiet.” eighth grader Jacob Cobus said. “But with a little bit of background noise like a fan blowing or a TV playing on low volume.”
Those who get less sleep may struggle with focusing in class, causing them to fall behind and miss vital instructions. This is ultimately the main thing that can bring a student’s grades down.
“When people get a smaller amount of sleep, their grades are more likely to be affected because they’re tired.” eighth grader Violet Glasset said. “I know my grades can at least slip when I don’t get enough sleep.”