Students Give Way to New Sleep Schedules
By Andre Hoofnagle
With the new form of school underway, it has brought new challenges and changes to how the lives of students undergo. Some have gone back to face-to-face wearing masks, while others have stayed home and done class through virtual learning. Changes in people’s usual schedules often results in a change in their sleep schedule, too. Sleep schedules can determine someone’s mood, work ethic, and overall focus that will be employed during the day. If someone has a poor sleep schedule, it can often lead them to be tired, cranky, and lazy throughout the day. However, with an advantageous sleep schedule, people are more likely to start the day out right and concentrate and achieve the tasks at hand. Although the pandemic has brought much tribulation and hardship, one thing that has been provided is more sleep.
Students have had a unique way of school for this year. With everybody learning through virtual classrooms, either in the classroom or at home, the way school work has been given is different from the norm. The change in the format of how classwork and homework is given has allowed some students to finish work faster, while for others, it has taken longer. This means that the amount of sleep that students are now receiving has adjusted. Senior Luis Balma explained how his sleep schedule has differed from his previous years at Timber Creek. “I am actually getting less sleep due to more work. I feel like my teachers have been assigning more assignments through LaunchED than usual,” Balma said. For those with more work, this change in how school functions has negatively affected them. However, through hard work and determination, the negatives of getting less sleep can be outweighed by the positives of getting proficient grades.
For students doing school from home, the time in which they go to sleep and wake up has altered. Sophomore Alejandro Bernard Romero talked about how he’s slept in longer than during the previous school year. “Since I don’t actually have to go to school, I’m able to sleep in longer,” Bernard Romero said. With the elimination of having to transport to the Timber Creek campus by bus, he is able to get an extra hour of sleep in, like many other online students. This has overall helped the amount of sleep students have been able to get, which has ensured that they are more focused and ready to learn. Also, online students have used this extra hour of sleep before school to have an extra hour of relaxation during the night before. “I’ve been going to bed like an hour later during the school year since the pandemic,” said Bernard Romero. At first, this may seem like a precious hour of sleep going to waste, but in hindsight, this mental break from learning can help rejuvenate the mind to be ready to tackle the learning opportunities the next school day. The online learning format has altogether improved the exhaustion problem faced by many students.
Overall, the pandemic changing the school format has resulted in an alteration of students’ sleep schedule. Some have been able to get more sleep, which in turn has led to improvements in school performance and focus. Sleep deprivation has always been rough for students in high school, with the early mornings of going to school and the late nights studying. However, some light has been shed into the path for some, and this glimmer of more sleep has provided an opportunity that should be taken while available. Others haven’t been as lucky, with getting less sleep and more work, but are still prevailing through their classes. Through this modification in our usual school year, sleep schedules have changed, and this change has been for the better or worse. As Wolves, we can get through any adjustment or trial life throws at us, and through perseverance and strength, we can turn unusual circumstances into something positive, even if that positivity is a little more time to snooze.
