Insomnia and school: Not a good match

Have you ever tried going through your day without sleep? It is a horrible thing. Some people suffer this everyday. It’s called insomnia. Now imagine a high school student trying to learn with insomnia.

As a sufferer myself there can be days where I feel too exhausted, but still need to attend school. Insomnia is a persistent disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep, sometimes both. As you may know some high school students may come to school feeling unmotivated to learn. Can this be linked to insomnia? I think so. Another part of insomnia can make a person’s energy level and mood low. Not only the person’s health and quality of life is at risk.

Some students, like Crystal Howard and Jasmine Allan, had or are suffering from insomnia. Howard, a high school student at L.A. River High, described her insomnia. She would sleep until 3 a.m.hen she woke up, she would feel tired and had a hard time staying awake in class during her first and second period. Her grades are A’s and Bs. I asked her if insomnia affected her quality of work. Her response “As of now no, but in the past yes.” She has had insomnia since ninth grade.

Allan, another student, explains she would sleep from 11 p.m.-2 a.m., wake up, sleep again at 2:30 a.m., wake up at 4 a.m., sleep again from 4:30 a.m.-6 a.m., then wake up for the 6:30 a.m. to start her day. She describes her morning mood as “angry” and “very tired.” In the past during her insomnia, her grades were affected: two Fs and rest A’s. She says her school work would suffer from insomnia, saying “I would go home sad and try to sleep, but wake up late.” This lasted for two months. Luckily she no longer sufferers from insomnia.

As you can see insomnia is a horrible condition in general. And teens that suffer from it need help not only in school, but help sleeping. As in matter of fact the University of Adelaide linked teen insomnia with depression and anxiety.

I believe more research needs to be done to help with teen insomnia and find more healthy methods to prevent or stop insomnia in teen lives. As this can affect grades heavily and the well being of teen lives.