As a young child, early in elementary school, punishment took many forms: time outs, taking baths and probably the worst of them all, bedtime. As we age and grow into our adolescent selves, we slowly edge our way out of “bedtime’s” unrelenting grip until our parents just stop instilling bedtime altogether.

Now think as you stumble languidly through the hallways into your classroom and sit at your desk. Repeatedly the world blurs and re-focuses as your head rests on the table. It’s about this time you realize bedtime may not be a punishment at all.

Teenagers around the world are going through the motions of school, and a majority of them suffer from exhaustion and a sheer lack of sleep. A survey taken from 25 students here at Bob Jones of varying ages and schedules averaged only 7 hours of sleep while the recommended amount of sleep that teenagers need is 9-9.5 hours. 7 hours is only 77 percent of the sleep you need.

When senior Mackenzie Porten was asked if and why kids don’t get enough sleep she replied with, “No, and I guess a lot of it is how much we waste staying up on our phones, mixed with responsibilities like homework, jobs, and activities.”

Another senior, Caleb Tollison, was asked the same question. He responded, “Generally, no, they don’t. The recommendation is eight or nine hours, but I know it is rare for me to get seven and it is usually less than that. Homework, jobs, and extracurricular requirements keep a lot of kids up at night. I know that even when I don’t have a busy day I want to stay awake and hang with my friends, play video games, read a book, or something of the sort.”

The opinion that students do not receive the amount of sleep they need is almost unanimous, but the cause is different for all types of students. Some kids in this technology-centered world are glued to their devices and will not turn them off until the wee hours of the night. Some kids spend their time actually studying and working on extra curricular activities. Most kids however, struggle with both.

What can a lack of sleep cause? Lack of sleep can cause many problems not limited to cognitive dysfunction, depression, hallucinations, and just general moodiness. It can also cause a decrease in a person’s immune system, leaving them vulnerable to sickness and disease. A few other ill effects include weight gain, being accident prone, and increased blood pressure.

It may be a good idea to put the books down or turn the phone off before the a.m. hours. Whether that requires better time management or better self-control, lack of sleep is an issue that almost all students experience.