Student sleep deprivation crucial issue: local survey
Only about half getting amount recommended by medical experts
A survey of high school students in the public board found nearly half of them are getting six or fewer hours of sleep each day.
The findings were part of the Greater Essex County District School Board’s biennial School Climate Survey released Wednesday.
“If a student is not sleeping, how can they come to school to learn if they’re tired,” said Wendy Iatzko, a member of the survey committee and vice-principal at William G. Davis Elementary School.
“We found students are sleeping significantly less as they get older. We need to do more to educate people on the importance of sleep.”
The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends eight to 10 hours of sleep daily for those 13 to 18 years of age. For elementary schoolaged children, the recommendation is for nine to 11 hours.
Of the 7,175 high school students to participate in the survey, 47.8 per cent reported getting between seven and eight hours of sleep each day. Only 6.9 per cent of students get nine or more hours of rest.
Another 36.3 per cent get five to six hours while nine per cent of students get four or fewer hours of shut-eye.
“I’m not really surprised,” said Otis Vacratsis, a Grade 9 student at Kennedy.
“Kids our age use our phones at night. Sometimes it’s doing homework because we’ve been doing other stuff and didn’t get it done.
“I’ve seen a lot of tired kids in class. They’re not paying attention, have their heads on their desks.”
“Sometimes, I see them sleeping.”
At the elementary level, nearly one in five Grade 7 and 8 students got six or fewer hours of sleep a night.
In Grades 4 through 6, 11.4 per cent of students got six or fewer hours of sleep.
Research shows a lack of sleep causes a host of health problems, including shorter attention span, poor memory, higher risk of acne, negatively impacts diet and increases irritability and aggressiveness.
Iatzko pointed to another finding in the survey that supports the blame being directed toward the overuse of technology for students’ sleep issues.
Half of all high school students report they are spending four or more hours watching TV, using a computer, a hand-held device or playing video games on school nights.
Forty-two per cent of Grade 7 and 8 students reported using such devices for four or more hours while 27 per cent of Grades 4 to 6 students did the same.
Blessing Blessing, a Grade 9 student at Kennedy, admits many students are addicted to their cellphones.
“I’ll sometimes communicate on my phone with my friends at 10, 11 or 12 at night,” Blessing said.
“I’m not surprised in this electronic age that the number (not getting enough sleep) is that big. It’s technology that’s most responsible.”
Sara Mehaidli, a Grade 9 representative on Kennedy’s student council, said she’s taken to turning her phone off at night. “I have friends who are up at 2 a.m. and some pull all-nighters,” Mehaidli said. “They’ll post Snapchats of what they’re doing.
“They’ll make sure we know they’ve been up until 5 or 6 a.m.”
Michael Moore, also a Grade 9 representative in student government, gets seven to eight hours of sleep and is an early riser.
“I like to go on my computer to read the news,” said Moore, who gets up about 5 a.m.
“Different people can function on different amounts of sleep, but I’m surprised so many are getting less than six hours.”
In addition to phones and electronics, Moore said student jobs also consume valuable time.
It can be later shifts keeping students out or having to catch up on your studies after you come home from working after school.
“There are just so many distractions for kids these days,” Moore said.
“I’ve seen kids fall asleep in class. I’ve seen kids get angrier quicker than normal because of lack of sleep.
“It impacts in a lot of ways.”