Students not getting enough sleep, survey shows
Public school board survey shows few high schoolers getting adequate shut-eye
For too many local students, catching up on their sleep in class is no longer a joke about their interest in a course but a statement about the consequences of how little nightly sleep they’re getting. According to a public school board survey of its students last spring, only 6.9 per cent of high school students get close to the 10 to 13 hours recommended. Only 30 per cent of Grade 7 and 8 students get the required nine to 11 hours.
“I’ve fallen asleep in class more than once,” admitted Reese Jones, a Grade 12 student from General Amherst.
“I remember once in Grade 10 geography falling asleep for 15 minutes. We were watching a movie and I was just dead.” Jones, who has got over her dozing-off phase by getting at least 71/2 to eight hours of sleep nightly, admits her story isn’t that uncommon.
It’s why the Greater Essex County District School Board surveyed students about their sleep habits for the first time last year. The findings are one of the reasons for Friday’s visit by students from General Amherst and Kingsville high schools to the Windsor Sleep Disorder Clinic. The board hopes to tap into students’ skills to design a campaign to promote better sleeping habits after the field trip.
The students were chosen because they were taking special high skills majors in health and wellness or information and communications technology.
“We want to give them hands-on experience by having them solve real problems,” said Krysta Brosseau, the teacher consultant for the program.
“With so many students not getting enough sleep, this has been identified as a priority issue by the board.”
The details of the survey findings revealed about half of high school students got seven to eight hours of sleep, but 38.3 per cent only got five to six hours. Another nine per cent got four or fewer hours of sleep nightly.
In grades 7 and 8, nearly 19 per cent of students get six hours of sleep or less.
The repercussions of sleep deprivation range from declining academic performance to increased risk of substance abuse and depression.
Brousseau said virtually every teacher has experienced a student falling asleep in a class.
“You can see how tired kids are by just looking at their eyes,” Brousseau said. “Students are tired for a multitude of reasons.” According to the students at the clinic, smartphones, gaming and electronic devices are at the top of the list of those reasons. Aaron Brush, a Grade 11 student at General Amherst, said getting by on four or five hours of shut eye has become his routine.
He goes to sleep around 2 or 3 a.m. and is up by 8 a.m.
“I’m up studying, doing schoolwork or on social media,” Brush said.
“I’ve tried to get more sleep. When I do sleep more, that’s when I feel tired. I just deal with it now.” Brush said he’s never fallen asleep in class but has seen plenty of others nod off.
He said he’s not sure how effective any campaign to promote
I remember once in Grade 10 geography falling asleep for 15 minutes.
more sleep will be.
“I think most students already know they need to get more sleep,” Brush said. “It’s a student choice thing. I’m not sure there’s anything the board can really do.” Vanessa Pidutti, who is in Grade 9 at General Amherst, tries to follow the principles of good sleep habits by going to bed around 10 or 10:30 p.m. and getting up around 8:40 a.m. because she has a firstperiod spare. Pidutti suggested the board focus its message on the same platform students are generally on in the wee hours of the night — social media.
“Tech has taken over,” Pidutti said. “Phones are getting in the way.
“People can’t put down video games. It’s really harmful what this (lack of sleep) does to us.”
People can’t put down video games. It’s really harmful what this (lack of sleep) does to us.