After nearly two and a half weeks off of school due to three snow days, students have been struggling to return to their normal schedule. Having nothing to wake up for in the mornings during break leads students to go to bed at 3 a.m. and wake up at 1 p.m.
The average amount of sleep high schoolers get is around seven hours, when it should be nine hours, according to Nation Wide Childrens. More sleep makes students perform faster and more accurately because sleep improves their reaction time along with speed and accuracy.
Sophomore Finley Boulware used to go to bed around 8:30 p.m. every night before winter break. During the two week break followed by three snow days, She spent countless hours FaceTiming her friends at night and playing Roblox. This caused her bedtime to shift to 4 a.m. and waking up around 8:30 a.m.
“During break and I would stay up till like 4 a.m.,” Boulware said. “So I went from like 10 hours of sleep to like two hours of sleep, I don’t stay up that late anymore but I would say i’m never asleep until 11:30-12 which is still late.”
She’s been working on fixing her sleep schedule by getting in the shower by 6 p.m., which gives her enough time to eat dinner and go to bed at around 9:30 p.m.
Sophomore Caroline Lagerstrom has struggled with having an inconsistent sleep schedule since seventh grade. She goes to bed at 3 a.m. and wakes up at 7 a.m., giving her four hours of sleep on weekdays.
Unlike Boulware, the break has benefited Lagerstrom because she sleeps in, rather than waking up at 7 a.m. and having three hours of sleep.
“I’ve tried to go to bed earlier many times but it never works,” Lagerstrom said. “I’ve kinda gotten used to my schedule.”
Watching YouTube and reading books, time gets ahead of Lagerstrom before she realizes how late it is.. She’s tried multiple tactics like melatonin and counting sheep trying to go to bed at a decent time but it never works.
Ever since break Boulware has struggled to keep her eyes open in class compared to Lagerstrom who’s been used to it for the past 4 years. Break has caused a loss of sleep throughout the SME community.