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According to a recent study, only 5% of teens get enough sleep and exercise. Could there be a possibility that Cleveland High School students do not get enough sleep or exercise either? If so, what contributes to the lack of sleep and exercise?
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that teens (14-17) get 8-10 hours of sleep per night. The Center for Disease Control recommends an hour per day of exercise for teens.
Based on student interviews, it seems that most Cleveland students do not feel like they get enough sleep due to school or work, but a majority feels as if they get enough exercise.
A majority of students felt that they got enough exercise but not enough sleep. Junior Aalana Autry works and dances in addition to going to school. “I don’t get enough sleep, but I do get enough exercise throughout the week because I have practice and dance at least once a week. I don’t get enough sleep because of school and homework, dance practice and due dates for projects and work for classes that are all due within the same day. I have a job, and it affects my sleep on the weekends because that’s when I usually catch up on my sleep because I have to wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning just to be at work at 7, and then I don’t get my homework done on the weekends because I have to work,” Autry said.
Kaylyn Watson, a Cleveland sophomore, said, “I don’t get enough sleep because of stress and school, but I get enough exercise because I do All-Star cheer, and I take tumble classes.”
Jaylen, another Cleveland student, said, “I get enough exercise because I work out, but not enough sleep, due to working out and having homework after, which most of the time causes me to stay up late.”
Other students felt they got enough sleep but not enough exercise. Cleveland sophomore Cole Butler said, “I think I get enough sleep, but I think sometimes I don’t get enough exercise because I only get exercise when I am with my friends.”
A few students felt they get enough of both or not enough of both. Sophomore Trivorri Harvey-Jones feels differently than many of his peers. “I do think I get enough sleep and exercise because I go to sleep between 10:30 and 11 o’clock, which personally is enough sleep for me, and I exercise every day. I run, jog, and lift. I have a job, but I don’t feel like it contributes to how much exercise I get because I work on the weekends as well as get off around 6, so it gives me extra time to get whatever else I need to get done done,” Harvey-Jones said.
According to experts, teens’ addiction to technology, especially a “fear of missing out” (FOMO), contributes to lack of sleep and exercise. This is true of Luka Lamb, a Cleveland sophomore. “I don’t get enough sleep or exercise because I am always on my phone, and I just don’t like exercising,” Lamb said.
In an article from CNN Newsource on ABC Action News Tampa, Dr. Cora Breuner, a professor of adolescent medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital and chair of the Committee on Adolescence at the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommends that parents take the following steps to help their teens get more sleep and exercise: “understand that FOMO (fear of missing out) is real, set an example by going to bed at a reasonable hour or getting exercise, make it a family goal to get recommended hours of sleep and exercise, reward positive behaviors and be realistic about goal-setting.”
