One of the most widely asked questions amongst scholars is, how can you balance a healthy amount of sleep while trying to maintain a good grade in school? Studies show the importance of sleep on a daily basis throughout the year. By most, the average required amount of hours is 8, and sometimes more.

Rest… one of the most important bodily functions you could do. Whether it is after a sporting event, a workout, or even school. The amount of stress that surrounds an everyday high school student is immense. So, ask yourself, are you getting enough sleep? For most the answer is an honest, no.

This idea of a sleep schedule applies for many students. One study says, “Inconsistent amounts of sleep from night-to-night also hurt student test scores. For example, not getting enough sleep during the week and then sleeping in during the weekends.” This is an easy example of a bad sleep schedule. People do not train their body to get up and get ready to take on the day, rather they create bad habits that are negatively effective.

Talking to Cathedral Prep students, I asked a few simple questions along the lines of are you ever tired during the day, leading in to how many hours of sleep do you get at night, which many were under the required mark. Finally, we came to conclusions that people need to focus more on their sleeping schedules. Throughout my interviews, there was a common theme that started to be recognized, and this was not getting enough sleep because of homework. This is a good point because the average high schooler has so much noise and distraction going outside of school as well, like sports for example. Many people said that they had been getting bombarded with homework, especially toward the end of the year. While homework is necessary, this brought up another great distraction, the phone.

Phones are so good for many communication reasons, but what they are not good for is distraction for teens. High schoolers in general have very hard times just sitting down, putting the phone away and focusing for a period of time. The sudden buzz of a phone, and notifications persuade a teenage kid to open their phone, and this leads to procrastination, one of the biggest issues amongst students. However, this can be fixed by putting a phone on silent, going in a quiet space and doing work. Once you finish your work, make sure to find time to get the required amount of rest.

While obviously school effects sleep, and sleep effects school, there are ways to get around it. If a student goes into a day with a failure mindset, it will make life harder.

All in all, sleep is the most effective way to decrease stress in a students life. Feeling replenished and ready to take on the day as soon as you wake up in the morning will make school and life in general feel much easier. Don’t let your sleep be the thing that degrades you, when all you need is a few more hours.