Sleep plays an important role in staying mentally and physically healthy. It keeps the body from developing diseases and refreshes the brain. The amount of sleep one needs depends on age. For Instance, newborns need 14 to 17 hours of sleep, children ages 6 to 13 need 9 to 11 hours of sleep, teenagers ages 14 to 17 need 8 to 10 hours of sleep and adults ages 26 to 62 need 7 to 9 hours of sleep everyday.  

But are students at Animo Pat Brown actually getting the recommended 8 to 10 hours of sleep?

“I get like 6 hours of sleep or less but during the weekends I sleep in.

Senior, Arisbeth Aquino said.

“I get between 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night this is because I read every night and lose track of time, and sometimes I get insomnia” Junior Angelica Cortes said.

Sophomore Daisy Rocha said she gets around 5 hours of sleep. This is because of the homework she has to do for every class. Part of it is also due to social media.

“I’ll be on social media a lot which is why I go to sleep at 1am or 2 am. This is why I am late to school often.”

Not one student interviewed got the recommended hours of sleep, which leads to heavily sleep-deprived students. Sleep deprivation causes mood swings, depression, hallucinations and weight gain.

“In the mornings I don’t feel that great, I don’t want to be here.” said Arisbeth. “During 2nd period I’m alright but by Government, I just want the day to be over. I feel really tired throughout the day but once I’m outside of school I feel good.”

Junior, Angelica Cortes had the same feeling. “At times I’m tired and sleepy during school and just feel like falling asleep during class but I still focus the same in school.”

Most students said their academic performance in class is affected.“I feel drowsy, sleepy, and I will be knocking out in class sometimes.” said Daisy. “When the teacher is teaching, I forget what they said and it’s really hard for me to focus.”

Freshmen are also affected.

“I hardly pay attention in class because i’m so sleepy” said freshman Cassandra Castillo. “I space out a lot during every class.”

Administrators and teachers are aware of the issue as well.

“Students who get 6 hours of sleep instead of the 8 hours they need, they struggle to get here early and I think that affects how ready and how mentally prepared they are.” said school administrator Michelle Wilson. “I think students to be fully rejuvenated need at least 8 hours which i know a lot of them don’t get.”

However, do school administrators think changing the time students enter cause an educational improvement ?

“The time that school starts to me it doesn’t really matter, the problem that we are trying to solve is still going to be there if students still wake up 10 or 15 minutes before school starts.” said Wilson. “Students will justify staying up late because they go in late, like on Wednesdays when we go in at 9 students are still late, so changing the time to go in at 9 is just a band-aid on the problem, it’s not the real solution.”

Most students do not get sufficient rest in order to be fully functioning students. This is one of many reasons why several  students have low grades or score low on many tests. Even if school began later, students will still lack the mental preparation required to stay focused throughout the day.

-Esthefany Anzaldo, Jazmin Arreguin