Joshua Chretien ’19

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With the first semester coming to a close, teachers are assigning tests and quizzes whenever the opportunity presents itself. Along with this come the countless nights staying up late trying to cram in as much as possible for the next day. However, in doing so, you lose one of the most important keys to success – sleep.

Sleep is essential to us as human beings, but, being students at Strake Jesuit, it becomes something of a luxury. Studies say rest is necessary to pay proper attention and to enhance our performance throughout the day. According to the American Physiological Association, the average teenager needs at least eight hours of sleep a night to function properly the following day. In comparison, the average student gets around six hours a night. This needs to stop.

I interviewed Alex Mills ’19 about the issue. He said, “Sleep is something that is very hard to get at Strake Jesuit. I get around four to six hours of sleep a night. This is due to two major things, an enormous amount of academic work and unregulated amount of times at after school practice.” These are typical obstacles Strake Jesuit students have to overcome, but we have to learn to manage getting an adequate amount of sleep every night.

Next, I interviewed Cross Country team captain Jason Bugg ’19. Similarly, he responded, “It’s tough having to manage the amount of sleep I get with all the homework we have. I especially have to get rest to keep my body in shape for running. It’s get really hard sometimes though, like the other night I had stay up until one in the morning doing homework.” A varsity sport captain in particular understands the importance of sleep. He too has nights where he is up till the eleventh-hour, and certainly feels it the next day.

Sleep is essential to the human body and we can not live without it. Strake Jesuit students are taught to adapt to the workload. We search for ways to get just enough hours of sleep in to function. Once you finally catch up on rest though, you will find proper sleep makes your performance throughout the day better than ever. Good luck and sweet dreams!