“Sleep is vital to your well-being, as important as the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat,” the National Sleep Foundation strongly proclaims. This could not be more accurate. So many students overlook the importance of sleep, while even more are trying to fit in just enough hours to get them through the day. Why are so many American teenagers suffering? There is a direct correlation between our country’s schooling systems and the lack of sleep students receive each night.
Although we have many bright students with promising futures here at PV, is all the stress and countless hours spent on homework even worth it when most students are running on an average of 5-7 hours of sleep every night? Most students in the United States have become so ingrained into a daily occurrence of 7-8 classes a day, hours of homework a night, and minimal hours of sleep to top it off. Where is the wiggle room? Not only does the work load in honors and AP classes take up much of a student’s time, but so do the regular courses offered here at PV and across the nation. 7-8 classes, honors level or not, can easily make for a great amount of homework.
To put things in perspective, let’s take a look at another country such as Germany. Florian Johner, German exchange student attending Pleasant Valley this year, shares his thoughts on the dramatic changes he has experienced from the switch in schools, “School in Germany is way easier for me because they don’t have 8 classes a day. School also gets out earlier during most days.” Several public schools in Germany attend Monday-Friday and have 45 minute class periods similar to the United States. However, other factors in German schools make the school day/year a much healthier, more manageable environment. A typical school day in Germany consists of start time between 7:30-8:15 am and an end time anywhere from 12-1:30 pm. Therefore, more time is allocated to get homework done, have downtime, and ultimately obtain more sleep (after all, students do need at least 8 hours of sleep; between 8 and 10 is the ideal amount).This healthy routine prepares students to be refreshed as they return to school every day.
Not only do students in Germany have more time to complete their homework, but they have less of it too. Johner states, “The amount of work done outside of school is less than here and also has more time to be completed because the classes do not take place every day.” And still, Germany “produces high-performing students” according to members of How to Germany. Germany, however, isn’t the only highly ranked country regarding students’ intelligence. Other countries such as Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Finland, and Canada all rank in the top ten based on math and science. Germany sits at #11 overall.
Out of 76 countries ranked concerning math and science, the United States shares its spot with Italy at #28. Perhaps you’re thinking this number should be ranked more superior to others since the time and effort you put into school seems excruciating. In reality, many students in different areas of the world are considered more intelligent than us overall, and they may be doing less work while they’re at it. Why wouldn’t students enjoy a more relaxed, educational environment while in turn getting more sleep? Although it may seem obvious sleep is beneficial in that it helps students focus better, be in a better mood, and increase brain and heart function, these factors go a long way when it comes to receiving an education. Any lack of these habits can make it very hard to be academically successful when a student doesn’t get the proper amount of sleep. This clearly presents an issue for our country’s youth.
The overload of school work has hit its peak; the lack of sleep students get has hit its peak as a result. Something needs to change in order to prevent this vicious cycle from continually fatiguing America’s students and hurting their ability to utilize their education to the fullest.
