Sleep Deprivation In High School

High school is filled with unique experiences that prepare students for their respective futures. However, its duration and strenuous commitment may make it a stressor on one's life. It may even reach a point where it becomes serious: “While almost everyone feels anxious from time to time, when you worry excessively for six months or more, you may be suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Other symptoms can include difficulty relaxing or sleeping” (Kallen 1). Since the duration of high school is four years long, stress has the potential to take over one's life in the form of a disorder. Also, the lack of healthy food choices at school add to the already excessive amount of stress. Because of these implications, the harmful effects

Sleep is often underappreciated and forgotten in today's hectic world, as if everyone has time for everything else but sleep. In a writing written by doctor Paul Caputo he claims, “Of all the varied and significant factors that contribute to one's overall health paradigm, rest and sleep are two of the most neglected” (Caputo 1). Sleep lets your body refresh itself and power up for the next day. It is especially crucial when the need for energy is constant, like at school. If the essential sleep is not met, the whole next day would be chaos for the sleep deprived student. Some students already have trouble focusing in school, so without sleep, the scenario could be disastrous. To combat this, however, Hillsborough High School should offer a relaxation period or class. Its goal would be to help students catch up on rest that is needed throughout a busy school week. It could be optional and can be paired with yoga, which can combat exercise and rest at once. This may be difficult to implement with factors like teachers and timing, but the benefits make it hard to ignore. Paul Caputo D.D.S described the benefits: “Sleep offers many interrelated benefits, including: reparation and regrowth of cells and tissues, the building up of bones and muscles, and the strengthening of the immune system…Other key benefits include: weight loss and the maintenance of a healthy body weight and overall healthy

School lunches are actually adding to the stress epidemic: “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the high-fat, low-nutrient foods like chicken fingers, pizza, french fries, and fish sticks you munch on at the cafeteria may cause you obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure later in life...discussions about the need for healthier school fare have even reached the halls of the White House, where First Lady Michelle Obama addressed the topic during a youth forum in April. ‘We're on track for the first time ever for kids to live shorter lives than their parents, which is terrifying," said Mrs. Obama’ (Park 1). The statistic about children's’ life expectancies is mind boggling, but the staggering part is that it is because of the food they eat. Expanding on this, food is divided by, “Two categories: stressors, which included sugar, alcohol and chocolate, and supporters, consisting of foods such as water, vegetables, fruit and oil-rich fish. Participants concurred that overall mood improved when they increased their intake of supporters while going easy on the stressors. The report also noted that eating breakfast and eating regularly throughout the day boosted mental health” (Wuebben 1). The research conducted proves the connection between healthier eating and boosted mental health with a support friendly diet. In order for this change to occur