For many students at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS), getting enough sleep can be difficult. Between homework, sports, extracurricular activities, jobs, and time spent on phones, students often find themselves staying up later than they should, and as a result they struggle with schoolwork.
The High School View recently administered a survey to gather information about sleep trends. The survey collected feedback from 137 students (out of the 703 currently enrolled). The data showed that 70 percent of students get less than eight hours of sleep a night, which is significant because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends teens get eight to 10 hours of sleep daily.
Academic workload was another contributing factor to later sleep schedules, with data showing that 54 percent of participants referred to homework as an influence on their sleep habits.
How students manage the workload naturally varies. Senior Jaydon Fuller tends to put off work until it builds up for him on the weekends. “When I start to think about all the assignments I have piled up after school, I definitely feel stressed about it, and sometimes I try to push it off even more,” he said.
Junior Bernardo Mariano said, “Being tired during class makes me fall behind, and then it’s hard for me to understand the subject and do well on assignments.”
For student athletes, participating in school sports can mean that you have to stay up later completing school work.
Junior Zoe Higgins said a lack of sleep can influence her performance as a goalie on the soccer team. “When I’m more tired, I am not as aware as I should be, so I’m not putting 100 percent into practice. Usually my mood will shift, and I will get more agitated, which can prohibit me from learning during training,” she said.
Sophomore Violet Meyers was recently cast in the school musical “The Sound of Music,” and anticipates a demanding rehearsal schedule on the way. Reflecting on her previous experience being involved in a play, she said, “When I don’t get enough sleep and we get into the longer rehearsals, it badly affects not just my performance but everybody’s performance, because they feel that the vibes are bad, and that can spread to everyone.”
An additional data point showed that 38 percent of responders cited entertainment, including phone usage, TV, and video games, as a driving cause of later bedtimes.
Students often treat sleep as something they can catch up on later, without realizing the extent to which sleep is an essential part of being healthy and prepared to learn on a daily basis. Recognizing the problem is an important first step toward helping students focus more, and feeling energized and ready to take on the school day.
“I feel like students can learn time management by figuring out their priorities,” said Violet. “Allowing students not to attend extracurriculars or sports when failing a class could be helpful. Students should learn what’s important to them.”
