Does Sleep Deprivation Effect Academic Performance?

A very pressing concern for adolescent students today is their academic performance. One of the factors that may contribute or oppose adequate academic average is the amount of sleep a student receives every night. Based on the secondary research that has been gathered, a statement can be made that sleep deprivation can negatively affect a student’s academic performance learning capacity. Sleep deprivation is fast-becoming the norm in society and can be influenced by things such as extremely busy schedules and sleep disorders. The cognitive function of the brain can work against a good night’s sleep. The amount of hours of sleep a teenager needs is also paramount. This study intends to investigate on the reasons for sleep deprivation and the potential consequences that result from a poor amount of Z’s.  
Today, the amount of sleep a teenager receives is generally lower that the recommendation. In fact, approximately eighty-five percent of American students are mildly sleep deprived, and ten to forty percent may be significantly sleep deprived (Dahl & Lewin, 2002). On average, a teenager receives approximately seven hours of sleep on weekdays (Epstein, 2007). According to a study conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, adolescents should get nine hours of sleep for adequate cognitive function (Curcio, Ferrara, & Gennaro, 2006). Adolescents most often get less sleep on the weekdays and sleep in copious amounts on the weekends (Ibid).   Another study that was conducted by Fred Danner, PhD focused on 882 freshman high school students and their sleep habits. The results revealed that on average, a student would get 7.6 hours per school night and 40 percent were getting less than 8 hours (McCann, 2008). Based on these facts, it can be said that adolescents in general are not receiving an appropriate amount of sleep on school nights.  
So why exactly are students not getting enough sleep? For many reasons, including less parental supervision and oversight and...