Sleep

I recently switched my topic from elephant poaching to teenage sleep. There were a couple things that motivated me to make the change. First off, I wasn’t very inspired to work and complete the elephant poaching project. This is due to how exotic the topic is. Yes it’s a big problem but it’s out of my range to actually make a change in. When choosing a new topic I wanted to pick something that was impacting my everyday life and was within reach to change. That’s when I had noticed how my sleep schedule had affected my attention and learning throughout my classes and day to day activities. This is when the topic of sleep came to mind. It would be very easy to make a change due to the fact that I am always surrounded by teenagers with sleep problems and it’s something that I struggle with. So even if i couldn’t make a change with other people i could with myself. During my research for this project I came across many interesting things. For example seventy percent of teenagers are getting too little sleep. So chances are you are affected by it or someone you know is. Although the numbers vary between people most doctors recommend getting eight to ten hours of sleep a night as a teenager is critical for “physical, intellectual and emotional growth.” Although sleep can seem like such a small thing, it contributes a major role in your mood and much more the next day. Sleep deprivation has many effects on teenagers’ day to day life. For example, sleep deprivation can in some cases lead to struggle with memory. Getting to little sleep also affects your motivation and productivity inside and outside of school. It can also increase the risk of depression, which is a serious medical condition. So how do you know you need more sleep? In my research I’ve found that there are multiple signs you need more sleep. If you notice that you have to regularly take naps in the middle of the day that are over thirty minutes in length then you probably need more sleep. Other signs of sleep deprivation include not being able to think straight, struggling getting out of bed in the morning, and getting worked up over little tasks. There are other more common side signs like the well known general sleepiness. How do you maintain a healthy sleep schedule? There are many things you can do once you have a healthy sleep pattern to maintain that pattern. One of the main things is to avoid looking at screens before you go to bed. Other things you can do to get better sleep are things like exercising daily, avoiding long naps, and going to sleep around the same time every day.