One nation, let alone Vegas, has become a 24-hour nonstop journey into the depths of semi consciousness. For some people, counting sheep may still work wonders. Currently, there are 167 million coffee drinkers in the U.S. consuming over 6.3 billion gallons of coffee a year. However, sleep deprivation has become a serious epidemic, and a mocha frappuccino will not cure this illness.

“I’m a happy addict. I enjoy my caffeine. I love coffee at Starbucks, I love coffee at Jitters, I love coffee in India. Anywhere in the world, I love coffee,” said Craig Swallow, social studies teacher and a victim of sleep deprivation.

Once believed to be a problem in adult society, sleep deprivation has now caught on with teenagers in every Starbucks of America. When puberty hits, a teenager’s biological clock starts to change. A recent study gave new meaning to the word “tired” with over 85 percent of teenagers getting less than nine hours of sleep per night.

“Teenagers have work, activities, homework, etc. There is definitely a big societal influence and we have to change our attitude. Teenagers need the chance to get the appropriate rest they need,” said Janie Johnson, sleep technician for Sunrise Sleep Center.

There are two main factors for determining the degree of sleep deprivation. The first is called the sleep-wake balance and measures the time a person has been awake. The longer a person remains awake, the sleepier they will become (regardless of a good night’s rest). The second factor is called the circadian rhythm. Known as the “biological clock,” it tells people when to wake and when to fall asleep. Contrary to popular belief, times of sleepiness are preset and occur twice a day: mid-afternoon and at night.

Before puberty, bedtime in our heads was set around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. Nowadays, bedtime for most teenagers is around 11 p.m. or 12 a.m. This process is called sleep phase delay, and although this process is normal, many teenagers may complicate the transition by resisting fatigue.

“Typically when I am stressed or upset, it can take me from 30 minutes to an hour to fall asleep. However, if I’m really tired, I can fall asleep instantly,” said junior Jill Chaize.

Not only are changes occurring physically in teenagers, but emotionally as well. Although sleep problems can be caused by external factors such as noise or temporary stresses, these problems can also be caused by moods. Certain signs of sleep deprivation have paralleled the behaviors associated with ADHD. They include trouble concentrating, mood swings, hyperactivity, and aggressive behavior.

“Children react to sleep deprivation different than adults do. Kids will act out with hyper activity, lack of concentration, and crankiness. And what does a teacher think? Automatically they think ‘Ah, they have ADD. Get them to their doctor, get them on drugs,’” said Johnson.

Chronic sleep deprivation can cause teens to live in what many doctors call a “groggy, gray ghost world.” Lack of sleep can magnify social embarrassment, heighten paranoia, shorten temper and tolerance, and contribute to anger, frustration, relationship problems, and above all, academic difficulties.

“When you don’t get enough sleep, you’re pessimistic about every situation. It’s hard to have a positive attitude,” said senior Shilpa Modi.

The brain will become incapable of fully receiving and remembering information. The sleep-deprived have trouble keeping tabs on multiple sources of information. Creativity suffers, students cannot remember as much, and they can’t do critical things in a hurry. A Brown University Medical School study 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 receiving A’s and B’s.

The brain’s circadian timing system switches on later at night as development progresses. Many teens who begin school early are “pathologically sleepy,” falling directly into REM sleep in about 4 minutes, which can be paralleled to the structures of patients with narcolepsy. A teenager’s sensitivity to light changes dramatically. In the evening, exposure to even dim lighting can delay sleep.

“As an IB student, I usually spend at least one night a week making up the work that I procrastinated on earlier. I become a crabby miserable person after missing out on my dearly loved sleep,” said senior Lauren Bewley.

Alcohol also interacts with sleepiness, lowering mental and physical alertness. Being awake for 18 hours results in impairment equal to a blood alcohol level of .05. After 24 hours of being awake, it jumps to .10 BAC.

“A lot of people think alcohol is a stimulant. It’s so bad on your sleep. I’ve had a number of alcoholics in sleep studies. They will drink before the test, and we can tell when they are going through alcohol withdrawal,” said Johnson.

Even if a student loses a couple hours of sleep a night, it can impair their ability to drive at a rate close to being intoxicated. The most evident result of sleep deprivation is drowsy driving. It can cause drivers to drift from their lane, tailgate or miss traffic signs, and become unable to focus or keep their eyes open. The worst situations are bumper-to-bumper situations and lonely roads when reaction time may slow and people have trouble paying attention.

“Whether you are a teenager or an adult, things that go on in your sleep will impact your life-style. I’ve seen relationships suffer; people lose their jobs, people falling asleep at the wheel. You can be a teenager and fall asleep at the wheel and take out a family of six,” said Johnson.

Problems with sleep deprivation enhance a teenager’s already problematic and impulsive reactions to daily life. It is often referred to as a “negative spiral” of fatigue. Harvard Medical School suggests that if researchers knew what was making the brain sleepy, they could get to the fundamental problem of sleep deprivation.

As it is, 70 million are currently suffering from sleep problems, which has caused reduced productivity, depression, poor performance in school, and medical problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and reduced resistance to viruses.

“I feel certain events in my life affect me to feel depressed. I go through certain stages where I’ll become an insomniac and not sleep for days. I’ll then take my depression and stress out on others close to me like my mom and friends,” said junior Kristin Kocher.

There are several sleep theories. The first is that sleep allows the brain to review all the information it gathered while awake. The second is that sleep allows the brain to stock up on “fuel” and eliminate unnecessary information. The third and most popular is that sleep helps you master various skills.

“Lack of sleep over the years has made me a more irritable person. When I don’t have enough sleep, I have less patience for people and I tend to have a bad attitude on things,” said senior Lisa Doyle.

A person’s need to sleep is so strong, however, that no matter how long students try to fight it, the brain will eventually make the body sleep. The longer a person stays awake, the more sleep they need to replenish their bodies. Many people will get less sleep and stay up earlier.

As a result, a teen’s sleep debt continues to grow as you add on more and more missed hours of sleep. Teenage bodies are programmed for a sleep-wake schedule different than their work and social life.

“It’s not possible to catch up. If you sleep in late on the weekends thinking you are catching up on sleep, you’re not. You’re actually making things worse because you are throwing your body’s clock off,” said Johnson.

High school starting times, often before 8 a.m., have been blamed for student’s constant exhaustion. Researchers from the University of Minnesota discovered that both students and teachers preferred later start times. Their hopes are that students would be less likely to fall asleep in classes and in many city schools, attendance and graduation rates have gone up and tardiness has decreased.

Concern over sleep deprivation influenced the United States Army last April to change the sleeping hours for young sailors. A “Zzzz’s to A’s” bill has been introduced in California to provide federal grants of up to $25,000 to help school districts cut down costs of pushing back school starting times.

Simmons Mattress Company recently funded a film by a Cornell student on teenage sleep deprivation and the rules for better sleep. The film was set to be distributed to school principals this past fall.

“There is so much of sleep that’s untapped. Sleep medicine has been around since the ‘50’s. There’s tons of research, but there’s just so much to learn. If you look at how long sleep has been around, in comparison to medicine, there is still so much research that needs to be done,” said Johnson.

Whether it be the pressures of adolescence or the schedules of 21st century teens, it is easy to understand why people may feel that teenagers are headed toward the twilight zone. Currently, researchers are studying whether machines can do a better job of spotting sleep deprived people. Let’s just hope they don’t malfunction.

Judge’s Comments:
This story is a winner in every regard. The writing is tight, informative and snappy. You use a lot of well-researched and verifiable information, but you keep the story moving through the use of strong quotes from many worthwhile sources. I chuckled that the first source, a coffee addict, was named “Swallow.” One area of improvement: Make sure to adhere to AP style with time references-it’s 8 p.m.-9p.m., not 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. But that is a quibble in an otherwise outstanding story.