Have you ever dozed off in class or seen a classmate zombie-walking the halls? Sleep-deprived students are nothing new. More than a third of middle schoolers and three-fourths of high schoolers don’t get enough Zzz’s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
School officials in Mansfield, Ohio, recently came up with a solution: a high school course on how to fall asleep. “Sleep to Be a Better You” also teaches students what can rob them of shut-eye—such as watching videos on their phones right before bed.
The goal is to help students whose exhaustion contributes to poor grades, tardiness, or missing school. Researchers say tired brains struggle to absorb information and tired bodies are prone to accidents and injuries. Insufficient rest can also worsen anxiety and other mental health issues.
“It might sound odd to say that kids in high school have to learn the skills to sleep,” Tony Davis, who teaches the course at Mansfield Senior High School, told reporters. “But you’d be shocked how many just don’t know how to sleep.”
Want to know how your shut-eye stacks up? Check out these sleep stats.
—Kathy Wilmore