Many may think that summer is a perfect time to catch up on the sleep that they missed from the previous school year. Especially for high schoolers, they probably were extremely tired of pulling all-nighters and preparing for tests and exams. And because of this, they plan to sleep in or simply do nothing during their summer break. However, is there really time for them to sleep during the summer break?
[Source: https://arynews.tv]
High school is a competitive environment where you have to try to be the best at academics and extracurricular activities. Even during the break, one has to volunteer at a hospital or attend competitions or tournaments so that they have more extracurricular activities to write about on college applications. Plus, parents are constantly pushing them forward to achieve better scores on the SATs/ACTs.
However, that does not necessarily mean that no one can sleep during the summer break. Sleeping time may differ depending on the grade level. Freshmen may have time to sleep in a little more than other high schoolers, but they still have to prepare for their Advanced Placement subjects which means they are taking college-level classes. It will not be easy for them since they just graduated from middle school.
Then sophomores will have one or two more AP subjects than the previous year which will drain their sleeping time. This is usually because they start preparing for those subjects in the summer. Juniors will have even more AP subjects, the PSAT, and other standardized tests to worry about.
Lastly, the seniors have the most difficult time during the summer break. They need to finalize which SAT/ACT scores to send to colleges, write college application essays, and research the colleges they wish to attend. Seniors will have the busiest summer in order to prepare for college. Hannah Park, who is going to be a senior at West Ranch High School shared, “I was definitely planning on to sleep in during my summer break because I was exhausted from the previous school year. However, since I am taking summer classes, I have as same amount of work as back in when I was in school.”
The reason why high school students cannot have much sleep during summer is that everybody wants to be ahead of others, and he or she gets a head start during the summer. Therefore, sleep does not really exist among high schoolers.
Although getting a head start can be beneficial, lack of sleep can cause inadequate productivity when getting work done. For example, there were increased accidents when students did not have enough sleep. Therefore, teens are recommended to sleep at least 6 hours a day and up to 10 hours. Too much or too little sleep can cause poor health.
Even though summer is important for getting ahead of others, it is also crucial to have enough sleep for better performances.
Minju Cho, 12
West Ranch High School
