snooze.
Text and design by KATHERINE BUECHELER, RACHAEL VONDERHAAR and EUNICE CHO • Art by NATALIE SCHILLING
An ongoing struggle for many teenagers is maintaining a healthy, balanced sleep cycle. But the factors essential in achieving high quality sleep are often dismissed. Common substances—such as marijuana, alcohol, and melatonin—can affect our vital sleep cycles.
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n 1964, high school student, Randy Gardener, participated in a sleep study at age 17 and stayed awake for 11 days and 25 minutes in one sitting period, according to a study written in Science Alert. Researchers documented him displaying extreme sleep deprivation and cognitive and behavioral changes. Among his symptoms were moodiness, concentration issues, short term memory, hallucinations and paranoia. On the 11th day of the study, he was asked to subtract seven from one hundred repeatedly. When he stopped at 65, the researchers asked why he stopped and he said that he had forgotten what he was doing. The night after the study, he slept for about 15 hours and eventually recovered from his sleep deprivation. Doctor Michelle Primeau, a sleep specialist, has been working with children over the age of five at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) since 2014. Primeau has spoken at numerous high schools about the importance of sleep for teenagers. “Sleep deprivation can weaken a teenager’s attention, concentration, athletic performance and their ability to learn,” Primeau said. There are various ways to accelerate the process of falling asleep, some of which are avoiding bright lights and electronics, and getting out of bed if you are wide awake. Jane Varner, a family doctor at PAMF, believes that the quality of one’s sleep routine is reflected in the quality of their sleep. “There are really compelling studies looking at people’s brain activity while they’re asleep after they have looked at their laptop right before bed,” Varner said. “After they have gone to sleep looking at their iPhone or their computer, and they find that their brains are very active.” Having this active brain during the night increases the likeliness of waking up during the night. “We always say no blue light screens within two or three hours of going to sleep,” Varner said.
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