One of the biggest issues amongst high school students is the lack of sleep that they are getting. According to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, teens are supposed to get an average of nine hours of sleep per night. 

But, it seems impractical to get that much sleep because of all of the homework they get and their participation in extracurricular activities. They have to go to practice or a game for a few hours, then go home to shower, eat, relax or spend time with family for a few more hours, and then start homework for another few hours.

In a Google Forms poll of 144 NDB students, 96 shared why they get the amount of sleep that they get every night. Ninety-two of those reported homework as one of the main reasons. Nearly 27% of students reported getting an average of eight hours a night, an amount slightly under the recommended hours of sleep. Even at five hours, an amount significantly below the recommended hours of sleep, 13.2% of students fall behind.

“My weekly average ranges… is 5 hours and 50 minutes to 6 hours and 50 minutes,” junior Mia Soracco said. She gets two to three hours less than the recommended hours of sleep.

Sleep is one of the most important essentials in life, and it is neglected because students prioritize getting their work done over taking care of their own health. 

It is an unhealthy cycle for students to be deprived of so much sleep. They wake up exhausted every morning and find themselves in a bad mood with no to little motivation to participate in class or do their work.

Students are in a lose-lose situation. They either end up deciding to sleep and neglect their homework or they decide not to sleep and struggle to remember and apply the information they tried to stay awake learning. Most students would rather sacrifice their health and sleep, instead of suffer the academic consequences.

The late start schedule with classes starting at 8:30a.m. is a good change, but it is giving students an excuse to stay up later.  Sometimes, when they know that they have more time to do something, they end up procrastinating, using the time they have right now to do something else and then doing their work at the last minute. The late start schedule does help some students get more sleep, but it is not enough. 

A student’s dream is for teachers to communicate with each other about the amount of homework they assign or even the due dates of projects and the day of tests.  Talking to each other would make sure that students are not being overworked and allow them to live a healthy lifestyle, while maintaining their grades, activities, and other responsibilities.