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Renz Elli J.

Chavez, 2013-48091
Prof. Frances Abao
English 10, THV-1
27/08/13

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The article Sleep and the Teenage Brain by Maria Popova (of BrainPickings.org)
discusses that the teenage bodys circadian rhythm (daily cycle of activities) shifts three hours
backward when going through puberty, wherein nine oclock sleeping time suddenly becomes
midnight. It also talks about the effects of sleep deprivation to teens because of this sleep cycle
shift.
The issues regarding teenage sleep deprivation are being taken for granted nowadays. We
must focus our attention more on these because proper sleep is the foundation of effective
learning for teenage boys and girls.

Sleep is very important to the body. A human being will be weaker after a few days
without sleep than after a few days without food. According to the National Sleep Foundation,
sleep (1) promotes a healthy immune system, (2) helps release hormones for growth and appetite,
(3) repairs muscles, and (4) consolidates memory. Sleep, most importantly, prepares us and
makes us energetic for the next day. However, a teenage body clock is different from all the other
body clocks. As quoted in Popovas article:

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Biologys cruel joke goes something like this: As a teenage body goes through
puberty, its circadian rhythm essentially shifts three hours backward. Suddenly,
going to bed at nine or ten oclock at night isnt just a drag, but close to a
biological impossibility. Studies of teenagers around the globe have found that
adolescent brains do not start releasing melatonin until around eleven oclock at
night and keep pumping out the hormone well past sunrise...

Teens will have to suffer not being able to sleep before midnight, and being forced to wake up
before sunrise to be able to arrive school on time. As a result, the teens are somehow forced to
wake up while their bodies are still in the middle of the regeneration processes during sleep. This
is the cause of sleep deprivation among teens. In the article, Popova explained the effects of
sleep deprivation among teens, and how they affect the students learning and behaviour. Indeed,
the teenage brain cannot learn well when sleep deprived; teens can also suffer psychological
problems like depression.

Teenage students cant learn well when they feel sleepy in class. The author of the article
says, Chronic sleep deprivation in adolescents diminishes the brains ability to learn new
information. I agree to that. I have experienced it continuously back in high school. It was such
a drag having to be in school by seven every day. Being sleepy made the morning classes (the
ones before recess time) feel like hell. It was almost impossible to learn anything when my body
wanted nothing else but more sleep. (That was the time I learned how to sleep in class without
being caught.) I had a very hard time with the lessons, because no matter how hard I try, I
wouldnt understand what the teacher was saying. It also felt like I was wasting time. I was so

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sleepy that no matter what I do, nothing happens. It felt like I would be more productive to just
sleep, and wake up when I can learn things already. The weird thing there is that, at a certain
time after those classes (like recess time), I will just eventually feel awake without having to
sleep. Aside from staying awake in the first hours of the day and trying hard to learn in class, a
sleep deprived teen can also experience other problems.

Aside from learning, sleep deprivation can also affect behaviour and can be a root of
social problems. In the article, Popova says sleep deprivation in adolescents can lead to
emotional issues like depression and aggression, and that, Researchers now see sleep
problems as a cause, and not a side effect, of teenage depression. If this is the case, then I think
we should focus on this issue because it can result to very serious problems. I have experienced
constant sleep deprivation and I certainly think that this is true: sleep deprivation does result to
emotional issues. In my high school years, I often had these times I call depression attacks
wherein I feel depressed with no apparent reason. I would just feel awfully sad, and very angry at
even the simplest of things. I would easily feel pressured and depressed especially with the heavy
workload I would receive in school, which also gave me less sleeping time in return. High
School was a constant cycle of sleep deprivation and its effects. (Im glad Im already out of
High School.) It was hard to deal with unreasonable emotional problems, because the only way
out of them is through sleeping, which had to take the time for doing requirements, which would
also make me depressed. In the article, Popova also stated that studies have found connections
among sleep deprivation, emotional issues, and social problems. These emotional issues
depression, aggression, and the likecan cause social problems. There were reported issues, as
mentioned in the article, like bullying and campus fights between teens, which were believed to

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have been caused by sleep deprivation. If this were the case, then I think school administrators
and national education government sectors should now address this problem in teens. In studies
in the United States (particularly, Minnesota), as mentioned in Popovas article, schools have
tried to put their start times from past 7 oclock to past 8 oclock in the morning. Those schools
have reported positive outcomes like more energetic students and lower cases of campus fights
and depressions.

If the solution (pushing start times of school to past 8 oclock) was effective, then why
not implement it to all schools? The article claims that after a year of pushing back school start
times to eight in the morning, the researchers found that teenagers did in fact spend their extra
hour sleeping, and reported that they came to school feeling rested and alert. At the same time,
the number of on-campus fights fell, fewer students reported feeling depressed to their
counsellors, and the dropout rate slowed.
If the outcome was positive, then why not implement this to all the schools? The article
also, however, stated that parents had a quite negative feedback about the implementation of later
start times. I think parents of teens should try to be considerate on this matter because they have
been teenagers too. They must have understood the hardships brought by sleep deprivation
during teenage years. I think they should understand that the shift of starting time might just be
the solution to several problems of teens, may they be personal or social. I think it would also be
a good idea to at least test this too in Science High Schools here in the Philippines, because
workloads are heavy there. I think students there would need the later start time more, and if the
school administrators see the good effects of it, maybe they could influence the whole country
and end (or at least, diminish) the problems brought by sleep deprivation.

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Sleep deprivation in teens can cause difficulty in learning, weak bodies, and emotional
stress like depression and aggression which can result to cases of bullying and other social
issues. In my view, teenagers should have allotted times for (1) studies and schoolwork, (2)
friends, (3) family, and (4) rest or leisure. If the body clock is affected, then teenagers cannot
attend to all these. We can never argue with a persons body clockit is nature; and I think we
people should adjust to nature. Not the other way around.

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Bibliography

National Sleep Foundation. "What Happens When You Sleep?" 2013. National Sleep Foundation.
<http://www.sleepfoundation.org>.

Popova, Maria. "Sleep and the Teenage Brain." n.d. Brain Pickings. <http://www.brainpickings.org>.

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