Sleep is one of the most important things a person does each day. It allows the body to rest and to replenish itself so that it is better able to serve its purpose of living. Yet, many people who don't have enough hours in the day to do everything have to cut out sleep before any other activity. This is especially true for teenagers, who are trying to get good grades, do extra curricular activities, work, and have a social life. Those are the things that lead to teenage sleep loss; the effects of this loss are devastating.
             School is one of the most important things of a young person's life, whether or not the teenager is willing to admit it. The teenager spends most of their time either in school or doing homework to further their education. The pressures of school are enormous. Stress is brought on with every project, experiment, and essay assigned to the student. They are forced to go through loads of work, trying to catch up to where they must be, all in order to receive good grades. On many occasions, these students will be up late studying, typing, reading, basically doing everything but sleeping. Sleep is put off so that more schoolwork can be fit into the day.
             Along with the pressure for good grades comes the pressure to participate in extra curricular activities such as plays, band, pompoms, clubs, and sports. Not only do teens have to keep up their grades, but they must also balance a calendar of school events. This can be difficult for many with heavy academic schedules. They will spend the afternoon in school, and then come home to eat dinner and begin their homework. Many will be up until three in the morning typing on their computers, only to go to sleep exhausted, and wake up three to four hours later to begin the day again, myself being one of them. With this little amount of sleep, many teenagers also feel the basic need for money and a steady income during their teen years because of pressure from parents an...