by Viviana Gonzalez Chavez

What time did you go to bed last night? 

For most high school students this can be around 11 p.m., and while many set a bedtime for themselves on school nights, what about the days they know they don’t have school in the morning? It is widely known how drastic our sleep schedules may change during interruptions like seasonal breaks. 

According to the National Institutes of Health, there have been studies done that prove that a good night’s sleep enhances learning and problem-solving skills. It also improves focus, decision-making, and creativity. Additionally, research indicates that sleep deficiency alters activity in certain areas of the brain. 

It’s commonly known that a certain amount of sleep is required for humans to fully function with the utmost ability, but just how much should students and teachers be getting?

According to sophomores Arianna Adams and Kaniyah Woodley, the general difference in students’ sleep habits over break is very minimal, they believe students actually get more sleep. They conclude that with the extra hours of free time, many students and teachers alike choose to spend it by sleeping, whether that be by naps or during the night.

 It’s recommended that the average teenager from the ages of 14 to 17 years should receive around 8 to 10 hours of sleep. A similar guideline is placed for adults ranging from 18 up to 64. 

While these guidelines are put in place for better health, there are times when life becomes difficult with external factors. Matters like school, sports, extracurricular activities, and jobs all affect the times people go to sleep and when we wake up.

“It’s kind of hard to improve my schedule with sports like track and soccer, it’s everywhere and it changes randomly at times,” said sophomore Laela Rudicel.

And while most of the time students are busy with their own lives, they tend to forget about teachers and their personal lives as well. 

Health teacher Charles Patton detailed his own routine during breaks. “I am not as consistent as I would want to be, it heavily depends on Charlie, my 16 month old. When she’s ready to go down that’s when I go down, and so we try for it to be at a certain time, but that’s rarely the case.”

Many factors go into what times everyone goes to bed; thankfully however, during seasonal breaks students and teachers alike are graced with more time in their days. 

Thanks to this break from school, many students take the extra time to sleep in a couple more hours each day. 

“If I didn’t have a job, best believe I would be home everyday sleeping by 8 o’ clock,” stated junior Amaree Smith.

Junior Francisco Martinez, agreed, stating, “During spring break I think I get more sleep because I wake up early since I already usually do, but then I’ll take a nap in between the day, something I can’t do normally.”

And while this seems to be the case for most students, not everyone agreed.

Rudicel described her own drastic changes during school breaks, saying, “I definitely stay up really late at night, because it’s just easier that way and I sleep in a lot during breaks. During normal weekdays I get at least six to seven hours of sleep and I’m in bed  by 10:30, but on the weekends I’m in bed by 4 a.m. and I wake up at 9:30 … basically around five hours of sleep.”

Although this may seem a bit extreme, many students go through similar phases in which they sleep during the day and stay up through the night. 

Smith also recalls a time when her schedule was once just as bizarre, “Like two days before school started in the summer I was staying up till 10 o’clock in the morning and going to sleep then waking up at 5 p.m. It’s hard; it is very hard to revert or fix your schedule. The thing is, you try to stay up the whole day to restart, but you never make it through the whole day, so it’s really difficult.”

As she mentioned, fixing the sleep schedule can be very difficult and takes lots of time. 

“They (students) will go to sleep later, but they’ll wake up later too so it probably equals out in the end but I think it depends, their sleep patterns get worse. Then when you try to revert that sleep schedule, it doesn’t go back, like you have to have at least a week and a half to revert your sleep schedule back to normal,” continued Patton. 

So then, if it is so difficult to fix your schedule, why do people practice these habits? 

Many studies show that bad sleep hygiene comes from stress, depression, poor eating habits, or sleep apnea. While resetting their sleep schedule may take a bit, many students would agree that committing to a good night’s rest each day is for the best. 

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute described good sleeping habits as regulating the scheduled hours of sleep, being consistent with habits, and even setting aside extra time before bed to quiet down and relax.

So what will you do this upcoming spring break? Will you stay up late or will you catch more Zs during the week off?