- Dozing off at school isn’t always a sign of laziness; it could be an indicator of serious mental health issues, like depression
- Studies show most students don’t get enough sleep at night, and this affects their ability to concentrate in class
Some teachers are becoming more understanding about students falling asleep in class.You know the image from TV and movies - the lazy student slumped over his desk, fast asleep in class. But some teachers today are making waves on social media for letting their students snooze, arguing that sleeping isn’t always the mark of a disrespectful student, and instead it could be an indicator of more serious mental health issues at play.
TikTok user @bcholeman garnered 7.4 million likes for a video he posted about cutting students some slack when it comes to sleep.
“Sometimes the nicest thing a teacher can do for a student is let them come in, lay their head down and go to sleep,” he says. “Life can hit hard, and we all need some grace.”
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User @ms.old says she also lets her students sleep in class sometimes. She believes if a student takes a nap in the morning, they tend to be “more refreshed for the rest of the day ... less likely to have an attitude problem (and) more likely to be motivated to do the next activity.”
Experts agree sleeping in class doesn’t always stem from laziness, and instead could be a sign something more serious is going on.
“We think about children as happy human beings that are just completing their homework at school and living a happy life, but sometimes we can see that depression can be actually diagnosed or seen in children as small as 5, 6 years old,” says Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace.
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Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment centre, says sleep issues are “a red flag for depression.”
“People who suffer from clinical depression will have a sleep disorder (or) sleep dysregulation, so either sleeping too much or too little,” he explains.
This feels all-too familiar.
Other factors that impact sleep
Children age 6 to 12 should sleep nine to 12 hours in a 24-hour period, and teenagers should sleep eight to 10 hours, according to The American Academy of Sleep Medicine. But many don’t get that much sleep.
A 2015 analysis from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found about 58 per cent of middle school students didn’t get enough sleep and neither did 73 per cent of high schoolers.
Why? Catchings says stress and anxiety may play a role, since both can affect sleep. For example, if students are worried about completing homework or not understanding things in class, they may wake up in the middle of the night or stay awake worried about it.
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She also encounters adjustment disorders in teens.
“Is the child going back to school after being at home? Did they move? Divorce or arguments at home? That can ... create the adjustment disorders that we diagnose sometimes,” she says.
On TikTok, @ms.old says she’s learned from a few of her students “the only reason they’re sleeping (in class) is because it’s the only opportunity that they have to sleep.”
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“I’ve even had some students share with me that it’s the only place they feel safe enough to sleep.”
Catchings says adults should be mindful about the bigger picture when they are questioning a student’s tendency to sleep in class.
“Maybe there’s some domestic violence; maybe there is alcoholism or other issues at home, so that means that maybe the child is not going to be sleeping properly.”
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The pandemic’s impact on mental health, sleep
“Kids are living in an uncertain world right now so that in itself is depressive,” psychologist Kardaras says, adding that fear and anxiety surrounding the coronavirus have also caused an increase in depression rates.
On top of that, an uptick in screen time due to Zoom classes and an overall shift in typical home structures can mean even more upheaval.
“Kids were already adversely impacted by too much screen time pre-Covid,” Kardaras says. “(As) Zoom learning became the preferred delivery system of education, you essentially doubled young people’s screen time.”
Starring at screens all day can make a person feel pretty sleepy.
Kardaras says studies have shown an increase in screen time puts you at higher risk for depression.
“There’s this sort of misconception that you can actually form meaningful connections through screens, Facebook and social media, and the research shows the opposite,” he says. “Screen time essentially devastates physical activity and devastates interpersonal interaction, and those are the two main drivers of depression.”
Screen time can also make kids more tired, as the blue light from screens can throw off a child’s sleep cycle.
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What can teachers, parents do?
Catchings, the social worker and therapist, says the teachers who let their students sleep in class may have the right idea.
“What we see from teachers recently in allowing them to sleep (during) classes is ‘Let me see what the concern is. I can let them sleep. I can always communicate with them or try to investigate what is going on and then help the child,’” she says.
She says the next important step is to involve a parent, counsellor or both.
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Teachers should also lean on their school’s resources, especially if a student’s sleep issues are beginning to impact learning. Kardaras suggests reaching out to the school’s medical or mental health team, who may be able to provide assistance.
Parents who want to help their kids sleep better can step in to reduce their screen time. Kardaras suggests parents aim to enforce a rule of no screen time - including television - three to four hours before bed.
It's a good idea to turn off all screens a few hours before bed, and it's a great opportunity to spend time with family.
And lastly, he encourages parents to talk to their kids, especially as some start to transition back to in-person classes this fall.
“Encourage your kids to talk about ... what they’re feeling, what their apprehensions are, what their fears are,” he says, saying that it’s important not to ignore issues and to keep dialogue open.