I have never been one to sleep in school. Even in the afternoon naptimes of kindergarten and first grade, I would routinely come home and complain about it to my parents. In retrospect, it could not have possibly been more than 45 minutes of my day, but laying there quietly felt like an unending trial of my patience. Not too many years after that, though, I long to return to those easier, restful days.
High school aged students are one of the most sleep deprived populations in the country. Numerous studies indicate that teenage bodies need more sleep than their adult counterparts, generally between eight and 11 hours a night, while most adults need about seven to nine hours, according to the National Sleep Foundation. In addition, teenage circadian rhythms differ from those of adults. The National Sleep Foundation writes that, “Circadian rhythms start to shift later after childhood, causing teens to naturally stay up later at night before feeling tired, and then not feel alert until later in the morning.” This research also reports that less than 20% of teens get the recommended eight to 10 hours of sleep.
For many students, this constant sleep deprivation can result in falling asleep in classes. Personally, I began to struggle with staying alert through the whole school day during my sophomore year. In an effort to cope, I would take naps as soon as I got home. But my sleep has only decreased since; now I rarely make it to my last period without accidentally falling asleep in at least one class. Unfortunately, I’m not alone: Danny Poe, a Franklin junior; Charlotte Foreman, a Franklin sophomore; and Willa Macpherson, a Franklin senior, all admit that they’ve regularly fallen asleep in class before.
“I tend to not get as much sleep as I want to and probably not as much as I should,” reports Foreman. “I [usually] get about six hours of sleep. I end up getting to bed around 11 p.m. when I have homework, and then I have to wake up at 6 a.m. in order to get to school on time.” None of the students mentioned prior felt that they regularly get the sleep that they need. Even Iris de Alba Gibbons, a senior, who has never fallen asleep in class, says that she “wish[es] there were opportunities” for her to get sleep or rest at school, since she “never get[s] enough sleep.”
It’s clear that students are struggling to balance their circadian rhythms, increased need for sleep, homework, and busy schedules all at once. We can also agree that students falling asleep in class is not ideal for learning. Luckily, there is a pretty obvious solution — naptime! Students clearly need sleep, or at least rest, during the day that they are not getting. By designating a quiet rest period, students would have the opportunity to get the rest they need, allowing them to stay alert during their classes.
“I think that a nap time or quiet time would be great for high school because it gives students a chance to catch up on sleep when stretched thin, or even just a chance to rest their body [which] helps so much,” says Macpherson. “At the end of yoga class we always end with ‘savasana,’ or corpse pose, where we are laying down and focusing on breathing and I find that it gives me a great opportunity to rest my body and let myself relax at the end of the day.” Poe agrees: “I think a good majority of people would benefit from [a rest or naptime], even if it’s just a 10 minute nap,” he reports.
This proposal does raise some logistical questions. Probably the largest issue is with seat time — the hours of required instructional time public schools must provide, as per Oregon law. How would it be a good use of resources to have designated school time that’s not even for a class? Honestly, this is a valid concern. Adding rest time to schedules would lengthen school days, require scheduling and logistical planning, and realistically is not going to happen anytime in the near future.
However, in an ideal world, high school and middle school schedules would actually take students’ biological need for increased sleep into account. Shifting school start and end times later in the day, providing more time to complete homework in school, and scheduling specific rest time could create an environment more conducive to student health and learning. To put it plainly, the benefits of a high school naptime outweigh the costs.
In our fast paced world, even adults can feel burnt out by the endless grind of their daily lives and responsibilities. It is our responsibility to our youth to work to protect them from the same fate, and that begins by letting them lead full and healthy lives — with enough sleep. Let high schoolers nap!
