Sleep deprivation is a very serious condition which affects nearly 40% of the population in the United States. Although a lack of sleep can have harmful effects on people of all ages, teenagers between the ages of 12 and 18 often suffer from several long-term consequences which can affect their lives. Deprivation of sleep in teenagers has shown results of frequent mood changes, poor school performance, and the formation of bad habits throughout adulthood.

“Sleep helps you with a lot of things and helps you be healthy, so if you’re not sleeping then you’re not healthy,” sophomore Britton Wood said.

Through a lack of sleep, a teenager’s performance in school often declines. Mood and behavioral changes initiated through sleep deprivation cause students to show disciplinary problems, poor concentration, and sometimes results in sleeping in class.

“It affects your grades and I think that as soon as your grades start going downhill it’s a lot harder to get them back up so mentally, you’re not learning as much.” sophomore Kimble Spillman said.

On average, teenagers generally need 9 hours of sleep a night in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Studies show that the majority of teenagers in the world tend to only get 7 hours of sleep a night. Habits of staying up late at night and waking up early cause teenagers to display unhealthy traits both physically and mentally.

“If you start to stay up late, then you’ll keep on staying up late and you will just get in a bad habit.” junior Seth Valentine said.