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Argumentative Writing Essay

Prompt: Is Modern Technology Good or Bad for our Sleeping Habits?
Grade: 94

I bet that you have a phone, and so do your parents, siblings, and many of your friends. Your house is also filled with modern technology. But, this technology can be harmful to your sleeping patterns.

To start, the light from the technology you use can keep you up later. For example, the "blue light" from our phones affects to production of a substance called melatonin in our bodies. According to 'A Good Night's Rest, or is it?' "Melatonin is a hormone created by the brain that regulates a person's sleep cycle." So in simple terms, melatonin helps you fall asleep. In the same article it states, "Not enough melatonin can fool the body into thinking that it's not time for sleep." Sometimes when I can't sleep, my mom has to give me melatonin tablets that will increase the production of melatonin in my body to make me go to bed. Most of the time the reason that I can't fall asleep in the first place is the fact that I've had my face stuck in my phone all day. A way that you could help your body produce melatonin while staying on your phone is by going to your settings and changing the lighting on your screen to a more yellowish tone, this yellow light can help you fall asleep quicker compared to the blue light your phone normally produces. Another light that causes us to stay awake are street lights. Many people may argue that street lights are beneficial to people by giving them the ability to stay out late at night, but in reality, that is just the problem with them. These street lights can keep us up by allowing us to drive, walk around, hang out with friends, and do many other things at night. All these activities just keep us up even later in addition to our cellphones. Now I agree that street lights keep us safer if we are to go out late, but why can't we just stay inside? We can always make plans for tomorrow instead of late at night. Make sure to prioritize your sleep over the activities that you want to do, without sleep you wouldn't be able to do them in the first place.

Getting less sleep can also cause mental and physical health problems. Of course people would think that not getting the right amount of sleep isn't that big of deal, but it really is. Getting less sleep can affect our ability to comprehend situations, making us more prone to making irresponsible decisions. These decisions could lead us to doing things that could change the course of our lives. For instance, in the text 'Sleep Deprivation' it states that "-people who do not get enough sleep are more likely to be overweight, suffer from depression, and engage in unhealthy behavior such as drug or alcohol abuse." The way this ties into modern technology is the fact it's the reason we usually stay up in the first place. You just have to play one more round of the video game you're playing, or you had to turn the lights on so you could read another chapter of your favorite book. All of the stuff we are able to do with technology just keeps us up later, which could lead to you making a single bad decision because you didn't know better since you were too tired, a decision that could determine the rest of your life. Also, staying up late one night can lead to you staying up late another night, and another night. In the article 'Circadian Clock' is talks how "Overtime, this can cause problems like insomnia" Insomnia is a condition where it's hard for the person to fall asleep. I personally have insomnia. When I was in 5th grade I started staying up till early in morning without my parents permission, me not getting enough sleep would cause me to fall asleep during class and zone out during instruction time. Since I would stay up late every night I now have trouble falling asleep, I'll toss and turn for hours just trying to get some rest.

Lastly, there's school and extracurricular activities. In 'Sleep Deprivation' it states that "electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets. In addition, depending on homework and extracurricular activities, they may go to bed at irregular times." Since I play softball, sometimes I go out to the fields as soon as I get home from school and back when it's dark out. I can't just immediately go to sleep when I get home though, I have to shower, do my homework, and of course I get on my phone for a few hours. A lot of people just say that we should turn our phones off 2 hours before we go to bed, but they have to realize that most of the people who have trouble turning off their phones at night are teenagers. As a teenager, I can say that it is super hard to put down my phone. We live in a society where out entire life is revolved around our phones, I've had electronics since I was a baby. So since I've grown up staying up late on my device it's too hard to get myself to put it down, sometimes I'll even fall asleep while I'm staring at it. Since I would stay up so late parents had to put restrictions onto my phone so it would turn off by itself and almost force me to go to sleep. Along with my bad sleep, I have to wake up before the sun rises to go to school. My mom also has an early start time, she's up before I am. If she didn't wake up early she would have to stay at work till around 8 at night. Also in 'Sleep Deprivation' it says that "early start times, when coupled with later bedtimes, lead to negative impacts for both adolescents and adults alike." The only reason we are able to attend school so early in the morning is due to modern technology, without electricity we would be sitting in the dark until 3rd period. In my opinion, schools should start later in the day so their students can get the rest that they deserve.

Overall, technology can have a real affect on the way that you sleep. Make sure that you get a good nights rest by limiting the amount of modern technology you use when it is close to your bedtime. Sweet dreams!