AS JUNIOR CAROLINE BROWN hears her alarm clock buzz at 6:40 a.m., she hits the snooze button for the third time.

She asks herself if she could get away with telling her mom she just can't go to school that day, and then runs through the list of obligations and activities she has planned for the day — activities such as club meetings or going out after school, “which usually motivate me more than school,” as she puts it.

During the day, Brown grows tired and will wake up in class and realize that she just dozed off.

“I try pinching myself, but that usually doesn't help,” she says. “One of my friends has a water- spray bottle to keep herself awake. Usually it's a matter of not being able to keep my eyes open …. Usually I don't feel totally rested throughout the day, and sometimes it does prevent me from performing well in school.”

When the school day is finished, Brown heads off to tae kwon do and then spends the remainder of her night working on homework. She usually works until 11:30, when she gets ready to go to sleep. Brown stretches, exercises, brushes her teeth, sits in her bed, tries to feel as tired as she does during the school day, and then lies down.

“I would love to get more sleep, but I don't think it's the going-to-bed-earlier that will help. I need to be able to get up later with the sun!”

Brown is among many students at Uni who feel they don’t get enough sleep — which isn't surprising. Research has shown that as adolescents grow, biological sleep patterns change. It is easier for teenagers to go to bed later and to wake up later; it’s natural to have trouble falling asleep before 11 p.m.

Student complaints about lack of sleep are common. But what are the hard numbers behind those complaints? That's what we wanted to find out.

The numbers

Early in the second semester, the Gargoyle administered a survey in the freshman through senior English classes. We excluded subfreshmen because we wanted responses from students who had attended Uni for at least a full year (or, in the case of the transfer students in the junior class, who had attended high school for at least a year). In all, 193 students out of a pool of 240 participated. Gargoyle technical editor Isaac Chambers designed the survey.

“The survey was only administered to 193 students (this was an arbitrary number) because with 193 students responding, that gives a 3.1 percent margin of error as the total population is 240,” said Chambers, a junior. “This kind of sampling is fairly standard for scientific surveys of this type.”

The results are as follows (see also the graphs on this page):

How many hours of sleep do you get on a typical school night? Class averages:
• Freshmen: 7.13 hours
• Sophomores: 7.27 hours
• Juniors: 6.59 hours
• Seniors: 6.7 hours

Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? Class percentages:
• Freshmen: 29.82 percent yes, 70.18 percent no
• Sophomores: 30.51 percent yes, 69.49 percent no
• Juniors: 41.18 percent yes, 58.82 percent no
• Seniors: 17.07 percent yes, 82.93 percent no

What time do you go to bed on a typical school night? Class averages:
• Freshmen: 10:50 p.m.
• Sophomores: 11 p.m.
• Juniors: 11 p.m.
• Seniors: 11:30 p.m.

What time would you like to get to bed on a school night? Class averages:
• Freshmen: 9:40 p.m.
• Sophomores: 9:50 p.m.
• Juniors: 10:30 p.m.
• Seniors: 10:10 p.m.

What time do you go to bed on nonschool nights? Class averages:
• Freshmen: 11:30 p.m.
• Sophomores: midnight
• Juniors: 1 a.m.
• Seniors: 1 a.m.

How much later than your typical bedtime do you stay up to finish tests? Class averages:
• Freshmen: 1.38 hours
• Sophomores: 1.44 hours
• Juniors: 1.68 hours
• Seniors: 1.33 hours

How much later than your typical bedtime do you stay up to finish a major project/paper? Class averages:
• Freshmen: 2.83 hours
• Sophomores: 2.62 hours
• Juniors: 2.93 hours
• Seniors: 2.86 hours

How much later than your typical bedtime do you stay up to finish general homework? Class averages:
• Freshmen: 1.29 hours
• Sophomores: 0.88 hours
• Juniors: 1.12 hours
• Seniors: 1.02 hours

Experts say most teenagers need 9.25 hours of sleep each night to perform their best during the day, while some can function with only 8.5 hours. Out of the 193 students surveyed throughout Uni, only 12 reported getting the recommended amount of sleep, and only four reported getting more than the recommended amount.

Uni isn’t the only school where students don’t get enough sleep. One study showed that just 15 percent of teenagers get 8.5 hours of sleep on school nights.

Why the lack of sleep? As the Gargoyle survey indicates, one explanation is homework. The amount of time students stay up past their typical bedtimes range from 1.33 to 1.68 hours when studying for tests and 2.62 to 2.93 hours when finishing a major project or paper.

One way some students finish homework or study for a test is by pulling an all-nighter. Fifty-six Uni students — almost 30 percent of those surveyed — reported having stayed up all night at least once to complete their work.

But homework isn't the only factor. Many Uni students reported that sports and other extracurricular activities prevent them from getting enough sleep.

To complicate things further, even if students finish their work early, they still face the temptations of playing video games, watching TV, or getting caught up in other time-consuming distractions.

“I think 24/7 access to Internet, Facebook, MySpace, text messaging and e-mail create greater challenges to going to bed at an hour that allows adequate rest for good academic and athletic performance,” said Richard Rundus, father of senior Austin Rundus.

Behind the numbers: Consequences of sleep deprivation

Confronted with the data about student sleep deficits, cynics might reply: So what? What’s the harm in students functioning on a less-than-optimal amount of sleep?

“When you hit the freshman year, you’re going to need more sleep and you’re going to need it for several years, depending on the age that you are as a freshman,” said Assistant Principal Sue Kovacs. “And that’s what research is showing.”

According to Carle Clinic Association's Dr. Daniel Picchietti, who specializes in pediatric neurology and sleep medicine, a lack of sleep can affect a teenager’s health greatly. Among other things, cognitive and affective functions suffer when a teen is sleep deprived.

One consequence is that students can have trouble fulfilling their main responsibility: to learn. As students grow drowsy through the school day, they have more difficulty concentrating. Sleep deprivation weakens a teenager’s ability to study, pay attention, and solve problems. In extreme instances, some may fall asleep in class, whether by accident or not.

“I see students sleeping in my class about once a month,” said English teacher Suzanne Linder. “I feel like it’s a valuable life skill to figure out how to stay awake and look alert, even when you are feeling tired.”

Executive math teacher Craig Russell, father of sophomore Elizabeth Russell, sees one or two students a year sleep in his class regularly. He said it irritates him, but he’s learned not to get too stressed about it. If a student who sleeps in his class regularly asks a question that has already been covered, Russell will not answer it.

The connection between sleep deficits and poor academic performance isn’t just anecdotal. A 1998 survey of more than 3,000 high school students by psychologists from Brown and Holy Cross found that “students who reported that they were getting C’s, D’s, and F’s in school obtained about 25 minutes less sleep and went to bed about 40 minutes later than students who reported they were getting A’s and B’s.” A 2004 study by University of Arizona researchers found a similar dynamic at work at the college level.

The way students interact with each other can also be affected by lack of sleep. Jeff Blue, father of subfreshman Jamie Blue and the Uni High girls junior varsity basketball coach, has seen a change in the behavior of those who are sleep deprived.

“Most people are much more irritable when they are lacking sleep, and teenagers are no exception,” he said.

It’s true. According to the National Sleep Foundation, an insufficient amount of sleep can cause violent and improper behavior, such as yelling and impatience.

In addition, teens without enough sleep are more likely to show depressive mood symptoms. A 2006 NSF survey found that “73 percent of those adolescents who report feeling unhappy, sad, or depressed also report not getting enough sleep at night and being excessively sleepy during the day.”

Lack of sleep also weakens the immune system, making students more susceptible to illness. This in turn can create a cycle of falling behind in homework and losing more sleep in order to catch up.

The dangers of sleep deprivation can extend to the highway. Younger drivers tend to be especially at risk of falling asleep behind the wheel. According to a report by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, “55 percent of all car crashes in which drivers fell asleep involve people under age 26.”

Even the health of a teenager’s skin takes a hit when they are sleep deprived. A lack of sleep contributes to more pimples, acne, and additional skin problems.

One way some students deal with sleep deficits is to compensate on the weekend.

“It’s like I have a sleep bank, and I have to get a certain amount every 168 hours,” said sophomore Chris Yoder. “Since I don't sleep much during the week, I do all my sleeping on the weekend.”

But that doesn’t necessarily help things. Having irregular sleeping patterns can disrupt a teen’s biological clock and affect the quality of sleep, making it even harder for many to fall asleep.

However, Carle Clinic’s Picchietti said that catching up on lost sleep “is better than maintaining a huge sleep debt.”

What can be done?

The problem of sleep deprivation among teens has attracted national attention. Some schools have tried to improve the quality of their students’ sleep by starting the school day later to accommodate the natural sleep patterns of teenagers.

The result has been positive. Schools found that, on average, their students would not go to bed later, but would sleep an hour more each school night.

The enrollment and attendance at these schools increased, and the number of tardy students decreased. Students appeared more alert and in high spirits in the morning, students did not feel as depressed, and fewer students needed to visit the school nurse or guidance counselor.

“The faculty and I are very aware [of this], and we discussed several times whether we should be starting later to accommodate the teenage biological sleep need, which they need more during the period of time between the freshman and senior years,” said Kovacs.

“However, it all comes down to this: Parents know that [students] need more [sleep], but parents have jobs. How are you going to get to school? How are you going to get to your activities after school, and so forth? That’s what it boils down to. We all know that you all need more sleep.”

Parent Yelena Grinkova, whose daughter Tanya Denisova is a subbie, believes that having a school day with 45-minute class periods instead of the current 50 minutes would be a good solution.

“It is difficult to manage a lot of homework and extracurricular activities, but cutting time for sleep is definitely a wrong solution to this problem,” she said. “Having an extra 40 minutes after school would give Uni students more flexibility, potentially making time managing a bit easier.”

According to Kovacs, the faculty and administration have discussed shortening the school day. In fact, when John Hedeman was director/principal from 1998 to 2003, the administration looked seriously at ending the school day by 3 p.m., but the proposal met objections from both faculty and students. Many teachers did not want to give up class time, and students worried that shorter classes would result in more homework.

But even if schoolwide changes are unlikely to happen any time soon, there are many ways students can ensure they get more sleep.

Kovacs believes students should use their free time in school to do their simple work so that when they get home they can use that time to study, and the material will be fresh in their minds the next day.

“I also don’t think that kids should be taking more than seven classes,” she said. “I just firmly believe that. But some parents push them to take all eight classes. They don’t need to do that to get into college. They may want to do it, but they don’t need to do that.”

Math teacher Craig Russell recommends removing video games and televisions from students' bedrooms, and to limit the time spent online. He also suggests speaking to coaches about how students can use their time effectively on game nights, so that they can get enough rest after late games.

Health teacher Andi Phillips advises teenagers to start a routine and to avoid eating for two to three hours before going to sleep. Phillips recommends relaxing before falling asleep, and taking deep breaths. She said to turn down the lights at night because exposure to light makes it difficult for the brain to produce melatonin, which helps with the depth of sleep.

The National Sleep Foundation seconded this recommendation in a study on how light affects sleep. Light is used as a signal to the brain as to when it should go to sleep and when it should wake up. Similarly, it is bad to fall asleep with the television on, as the stimulating content in addition to the light will make it difficult to fall asleep.

Likewise, try not to read heavily, study, or play video or computer games for an hour before heading off to bed.

Many students and parents suggest planning out each day's activities carefully as an aid to making the most of your time.

“Try to set goals for when to be done with what, and a bed time,” said Caroline Brown. “It makes everything a lot easier.”

As Kovacs suggested, use free periods for homework, not procrastinating. If the load of all the activities in your life is really too much, consider cutting something out.

“You’ve got to figure out what your sleep needs are,” said Kovacs.

But all is not lost. English teacher Suzanne Linder, once a sleep-deprived teenager, offers a bit of hope.

“I remember being in high school and feeling tired every day,” she said. “I used to think that I would feel tired forever and that part of being an adult was living with always being tired. I was pleasantly surprised to find that by college that feeling went away. Now if I go to bed in time to get seven and a half to eight hours of sleep, I feel pretty energetic unless I'm sick.”

Note: This article was updated on Monday, March 31, with additional information about the effects of sleep deprivation on teens.