From falling asleep in class to struggling to finish assignments a lack of sleep can directly affect how well students learn and perform in school. Let’s take a look at how much sleep students get and how they say it affects them.
Ryan Jose Lopez
Freshman Ryan Jose Lopez gets between five and seven hours of sleep per night. However, on nights with low homework, he prefers to get in an extra hour or two.
Lopez’s nightly routine starts by getting home at around 5 p.m. after school, doing homework for one to three hours, and then gaming for an hour or two. He finally falls asleep around 10 to 11p.m.
However, Lopez’s sleep schedule can also largely vary when he has extracurriculars. For Lopez, soccer can take up multiple hours in his day. “[It]’ll physically make me tired, and depending on where the soccer practice is, it can take a three-hour chunk of my day,” Lopez said.
Nicolett Pataki
As a sophomore, the adrenaline of high school fades away as the year consists of more challenging classes, a busier schedule, and bigger responsibilities.
However, sophomore Nicolett Pataki says sleep is a priority. She works hard to maintain nine hours of sleep every night.
Pataki’s nighttime schedule varies depending on the day. Homework, tests, and extracurriculars are all part of the equation. “Some days, if I don’t have practice, I probably get more sleep because I have time to do my homework. But if I get home late, obviously, I’m more stressed [about] homework, so I take much longer. And it also sometimes depends if I have to study for tests,” Pataki said.
Additionally, getting into bed isn’t the only challenge—falling asleep is difficult too. “If I’m stressed about a test, it definitely takes longer [for me to fall asleep], but sometimes I feel it’s fine. It depends on how exhausted I am,” Pataki said.
Sofia Sanchez
Junior year is perhaps the most intense year of all. Some say the year is overhyped, while others consider it the worst year of their life.
However, junior Sophia Sanchez says she’s able to keep an average of eight to 10 hours of sleep, even while taking four AP classes.
“I challenge myself with rigorous classes [including] AP English, AP Math, AP Spanish, and AP Physics,” Sanchez said. Most students struggle to get enough sleep while balancing even one AP class, so managing four AP classes, which Sanchez says give around three to four hours of homework per day, while still maintaining enough sleep is an impressive achievement.
Christopher Zet Villatoro
Senior year is the final stretch, a time when sleep is imperative for students. Although first semester has a reputation of being very stressful, many students find the rest of the year relaxing.
Senior Cristopher Zet Villatoro says he gets an average of eight hours of sleep every night, sleeping at around 10:45pm, with only one to two hours of homework a day.
“I think it’s more that I’m done. It’s my last year, [there’s] not a lot of things to do, so there’s a lot less stuff to worry about,” said Villatoro.
For Villatoro, senior year is more like a relaxing ride to the finish line, with less work, and more sleep.
