Are Students Really Getting Enough Sleep?

Are Students Really Getting Enough Sleep?

Danny Gordon, Writer

The life of a highschool student is extremely hectic. Students’ schedules start at seven in the morning and can last all the way until twelve at night. Adequate sleep is necessary for a young person to function, but between school, sports, clubs, and jobs, teens are not finding enough time to sleep.
Most days start at seven or even before. For many, the hours between waking at 7am and midnight are consumed by school, homework, jobs, clubs, and other responsibilities. Oftentimes, it is not until past midnight that students have a minute to themselves to unwind.
Emerson senior Dylan Frank says, “I don’t nearly get enough sleep between school and working to ten o’clock five days out of the week. I don’t eat dinner until ten thirty and then some nights I’m up doing homework. My brain doesn’t get a break from seven to :ten that is fifteen hours.”
Schools don’t take into consideration the hectic schedule of kids lives and that there may be other priorities at home. According to junior Jessica Coyle, “Between sports after school and a job, it’s a very hectic time in my life. Some days are easier than others, but nothing is ever truly easy.”
One high school student said that on weekends he doesn’t even get to sleep in due to sports and work. On Saturdays, he wakes up at eight a.m. for track practice and then from eleven a.m. to 8 p.m. he has work; then on Sunday, he has to be back at work at seven thirty a.m. and does not get to leave until past three pm.
Between working a part time job and playing a sport all year round, this senior is scheduled between thirty to forty hours a week. These thirty-forty hours a week do not account for school; despite these hours alone being enough to be considered “full-time”, many adults do not realize this is the reality their students are facing. Teachers and the entire school system are oblivious to the rest of their students lives, and it shows in the workload. “I fall asleep in class on average two to three times a week,” says senior Joey Sabatella.
Clubs meet during the lunch period and after school which either way is interfering with something else. Some people miss half the lunch period in meetings. Clubs want your time just like everyone else and some students just can’t do everything although they may try. Overall there just isn’t enough time in the day or consideration amongst teachers and the school system. Kids are being affected negatively due to such busy schedules. Between teachers and students, there a better understanding needs to be found in order to assist these students in trying to balance their lives.