At McKinley High School, student life is diverse and bustling. Schedules to follow, work to get done, places to go during and after school involving routines students follow throughout their day, sleep being an essential part of student life.
Dinara Chelliah (c/o 2025) is one of many students at McKinley balancing her school schedule with her personal life outside of school. Chelliah said her classes are busy, keeping her sleep schedule from staying constant.
“I go to sleep depending on how much homework I have, like the time depends on how much homework I have,” Chelliah said.
Chelliah said that, in addition to homework, stress keeps her awake, leaving her getting about six hours of sleep and feeling tired in class.
Mylee Rabago (c/o 2025) also doesn’t have a consistent sleep schedule. Her usual sleep time varies from 11:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.
“Homework is a major factor that keeps me up at night. The amount of homework depends on the school day and what classes I have. On odd days, I have homework for classes like chemistry, Algebra 2, and AP Psych, which usually take me a couple hours to finish. And on even days, I have less homework, but I still have homework for my AP Lang class which could take me between 30 minutes to an hour to complete.”
All this homework leaves Rabago with a few hours of sleep and negatively affects her throughout the day.
“It makes it hard to function and think throughout the school day. It also means that I get tired faster throughout the day,” Rabago said. “The amount of sleep you get really determines how your day is going to go.”
Nemours Children’s Health is a children’s health system that is dedicated to creating a healthier future for all children. NCH states the recommended sleep time needed for teens is 8-10 hours.
History teacher Shaun Kamida is one of the many teachers who sees how lack of sleep affects students.
“I think it’s always gonna be a problem. It’s always gonna be there, but I also feel that it’s getting worse over the school years,” he said.
