Teenagers today are perceived as lazy and glued to their phones. However, they are just extremely tired or sleep deprived. Teenagers do not get enough sleep during the week, so what is the cause?

One possibility that could be the reason that teenagers do not get enough sleep is school and homework. Teachers assign homework that day and students are expected to finish the homework for the due date. This is a common understanding between teachers and students. However, students still manage to do a whole project the night before even though they’ve known about it for weeks. Cramming, due to excessive procrastination, is a common approach to homework. This keeps teenagers up all night which does not bode well for their heath. It is also difficult when different teachers assign multiple tests on the same day, keeping students up studying for those. Yes, homework and education is extremely important, but the amount of homework given at one time causes students to lose those precious hours of sleep.

Phones and electronic devices also make a contribution to sleep deprived teenagers. Kids are anxious to receive that one, last, important text for the night or beat their high score on a game. However, by the time they are done on their devices for the night, it is already three in the morning and multiple hours of sleep are lost. Teenagers are so absorbed in technology and want to embrace it, that they do not realize the negative impacts devices may have.

In turn, when teenagers do not get enough sleep, they become moody and their performance is dramatically weakened. They are not just losing sleep but are hurting their bodies by not giving it the nutrition it needs. Their grades, bodies, and social lives are damaged due to technology.

Teenagers need to have just a little more self-control and focus on what is important not what Facebook or Instagram drama is happening. Sleep is a beautiful thing and can be achieved easily. Teenagers would much rather get some sleep than have dark circles under their eyes.