Sleepless In Sacramento

Schoolwork may be the most important part of a teenager’s life — but without a sufficient nights sleep, students will find it difficult to maintain attendance and good grades.

Sleep is food for the brain — it is as essential to life as the air that we breathe. Scientists have looked into sleeping habits and schedules and have concluded that a teenager needs at least nine hours of sleep a night to sustain a comfortably healthy lifestyle.

A recent study shows that the average teenager does not even come close to that, averaging around six to seven hours a night. Lack of sleep can lead to teenagers, or anyone for that matter, to be cranky, irritable and of course tired. This can lead to poor attendance and lack of focus or concentration in the classroom, resulting in bad grades.

So, if sleep is this important, why can’t students around the nation, including Christian Brothers, seem get enough sleep? It is often pinned on school work load or a busy extra curricular activity schedule, but in the end, it all comes down to time management and priorities.

Christian Brothers College Counselor Ms. Melissa McClellan meets with students of all ages daily and sees the effects and the importance of sleep.

“I think that students should get around 9 hours of sleep a night, but that’s in a perfect world,” says the counselor Unfortunately, I would have to say that our CB students get roughly 6-7 hours a sleep a night.”

Sleep is tough to get as it is, but CB students have to balance so much more than just school work.

“Having extracurricular activities on top of a rigorous course load can impact sleep tremendously. As well as time management– if a student is managing their time incorrectly, it can result in them starting homework late and mean less sleep.”

The importance of time management is consistently relevant throughout young students lives and even the lives of adults. The ability to plan out your day and manage your time efficiently while also being able to adapt to unexpected events is a skill that needs to be practiced and embraced.

Director of Counseling Mr. Kirk Purdy believes that sleep can affect the body as well as one’s grades.

“Sleep affects focus, concentration, and memory, as well as a student’s immune system,” he says. “When someone is tired, their immune system is weakened and they are more prone to getting colds and flu which reflects in attendance.”

Mr. Purdy suggests ways to get help if someone is feeling suffocated by there work, and not getting enough sleep.

“I always encourage students to come talk to the counselor if they feel that they are not getting enough sleep so we can find out what they can possibly do to help their situation.”

From simple technological distractions to complex jobs and practice schedules, students have a lot on their plate during the day. CB student David Calles (’15) understands the burden of sleep deprivation as he balances work with sports and homework.

“On average I would say I get around 4-5 hours of sleep a night,” the senior says. “It may seem rough, but sleep isn’t always my first priority.”

The different seasons can mean different wok loads in terms of sports, work and change.

“When its not football season, I work until around 10 or 11 at night which means I don’t get home until midnight which is when I start my homework.” says the senior as he shakes his head. “Its funny because I don’t really think much of it because you get used to it after awhile, it just becomes routine I guess.”

Sleep is the goal, but when money is in the picture, sometimes priorities can change.

“In the bigger picture I think the money is worth it, however, I wouldn’t recommend this routine for everyone.”

While earning money is nice, sometimes homework can feel like a full time job. Despite his strongest efforts, senior Blake Edwards (’15) finds himself up late at night with a seemingly endless workload.

“I lose the most sleep due to school work and tests,” he says. “I believe I have good time management but sometimes there is just too much to handle.”

When it comes to teachers assigning homework, Blake believes he has a reasonable solution.

“I think teachers need to utilize Schoology to their advantage and plan ahead,” he suggests. “Maybe they could look and see if a student has a lot of tests or assignments on a given day, and adjust there test dates or projects.”

It doesn’t seem illogical to suggest alternatives to lessen the burden of a heavy workload, but students will always have some type of homework, tests, and projects.

No matter what grade you are in or how old you are, sleep is essential to living a healthy  life. So count your sheep and catch some sleep, ladies and gentlemen, because without good time management, we would all be sleepless in Sacramento.