Investigative series: Sofia Hargis-Acevedo – The eight-hour necessity

Every day, junior Jonas VanderWoude goes to bed at around 8:45 p.m. so he can wake up at 4:45 a.m. He devotes himself to this daily regime before school so that he can work out for basketball, as he is consistently trying to improve his skills. However, growing up, he was taught that a good sleep schedule is better for more than simply morning workouts. “My mom used to say that sleep is so imp...

Name: Chad Scholten When do you normally go to bed and wake up? "I personally try to get about eight hours of sleep. I find that that's when I work best. In the school year, I will try to get up at 5:00 a.m. So, that means I'm trying to be in bed around 10 o'clock, ideally. My bedtime [is at] about 10 o'clock or before that." Would you say that you have a consistent sleep schedule? "I d...

Name: Alex D'Alexander Grade: 9 When do you normally go to bed and wake up? "[Around] 11:30 p.m. and I wake up pretty early. I wake up at like 5:30 a.m." Would you say that you have a consistent sleep schedule? "No." What do you do when you can't fall asleep? "I have sleeping medicine." Can you compare how you feel after a good night's sleep versus a bad one? "I feel a lot more...

Name: Grace Berlin Grade: 10 When do you normally go to bed and wake up? "I wake up super late in the day, super late compared to most people. I usually wake up at like 6:45 a.m. I get ready pretty quick and I go to bed. Usually the latest [is] 10:30 p.m. when I try and turn my phone off and everything and shut my eyes." Would you say that you have a consistent sleep schedule? "I d...

Every day, after attending school from 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., high school students across the nation enter their packed lives outside of the classroom. They meet at their clubs, they join their teammates at practice, and they clock into their jobs. Afterward, they tend to their taxing schoolwork: essays to write; math problems to work through; history chapters to read; and science labs to complete. ...

I know it’s getting worse when I wake up in a daze. When my lights are still on and my computer is still open; when my music is still playing and I have papers still scattered around my bedroom floor; that’s when I know it’s getting worse. When I fight to stay awake when I’m taking notes, or better yet, a test; when I circle the wrong answer over and over again meaning to circle a differen...