By Matthew Gilliam, Special to the Journal
One would be hard pressed in 2025 to find a student who wasn’t suffering the consequences of a poor sleep schedule, myself included. I’ve been there, pushing off studying or homework until near midnight because I wanted to play video games or talk with friends, only to do the half awake, panicked race to my desk to try and finish my work so I can scrape together some sleep. It happens but, sadly enough, it’s happening more often, and to more and more students every night, especially as students become older and more focused on other aspects of their lives. The problem is that, in an era of constant technology use, poor time management, and academic pressure, many students develop poor sleeping habits that negatively impact their health and academic performance.
A major problem that many students suffer from related to their sleeping is they try to “balance” their sleep. They have this borderline delusional idea that they can go all week without sleeping more than 6 hours, still perform their best, and make up for it by sleeping all weekend. It sounds silly, and it is, but many students have never been properly informed on how to balance their sleep schedule. A study conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medication found that “students who stay up late on school nights and make up for it by sleeping late on weekends are more likely to perform poorly in the classroom.” This is because the human body has an internal clock that needs an organized schedule and, when not organized, the body becomes thrown off. The AASM recommends sleeping the same amount of time each night so the body can set its internal clock.
Many students also struggle to “wind down” before bed. This can be from a multitude of reasons including last minute studying, social media, movies, TV shows, homework, etc. It can be so hard to call it a night sometimes, and I get it. I tell myself, “I’ll just watch this one episode,” and then I’ll get to studying, only for it to be 11:30p.m. and I haven’t even looked at my assignments. Or I’ll tell myself I’m tired and head to bed, only to immediately get on my phone for hours.
The AASMs recommended only using the bed for sleeping. They say it’s best to avoid activities like studying, reading or watching technology in bed as these prevent relaxation. The best activity to do before bed is to turn off all distractions and relax quietly for 15 to 30 minutes.
One way I’ve found to ensure adequate sleep, while also being able to have time to myself, is to better organize the week. Try to set goals and make plans ahead of time in order to prepare for upcoming work, studying, and sleep. For example, I may want to hang out with friends on Friday while I also have a match for sports on Thursday; so, I’ll set myself the goal of getting all the homework for high school done before I go to practice, then work on college work from the time I get back until 10:30.
This system insures a couple things: one, it prevents myself from procrastinating ‘til last minute – second, it allows me to focus on two different work loads while giving me a break in between. These goals also prevent me from cutting into my sleep and allow me to get the recommended eight hours most nights. By following this system, I can usually get all my work done by Thursday, allowing for more free time that doesn’t require me to sacrifice sleep.
At the end of the day, everyone has a sleep system they follow, it just so happens that most of those systems result in poor rest and recovery. It also seems that nobody has a worse sleep regiment than students and young adults. But, as more organizations like the American Academy of Sleep Medication release more research articles and studies on improving sleep habits, the more people can benefit. Sleep is one of those things that everyone does; few do it properly, but all are capable of changing when pointed in the right direction.
