Sleep is a strange thing we humans must do daily, and it is hard to obtain once the teenage years roll in. “Sleep-deprived teens are more likely to report anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors,” according to the Sleep Foundation. The medical world, from places such as Stanford Medicine, estimates that “70% of high schoolers are not getting enough sleep.” Lack of sleep has been due to various factors, including the biological shift in their circadian clocks. Though the doctors say 8 hours, CCHS students say otherwise. 

One factor when determining sleep schedule is the distance from school to home. So, I interviewed a variety of Dons coming with differing commute times. One person I interviewed has to take the bus that arrives at school at 7:30 every morning. Wrestler Nano Sosa says you get extra sleep from sleeping on the bus or in class. I asked him how much sleep he gets during wrestling season. “During the season, most nights I was getting 6 hours or less of sleep,” said Nano with his signature big grin. 

Elijah May, a Drama member and choir ensemble, has a 20-minute commute to school. According to May, the average time he goes to bed is 10 or 11. Though the commute is not an issue preventing good sleep, he did feel that, on average, the 1-3 hours of homework somewhat serves as a roadblock to him getting good sleep. “My only advice to procrastinators is to have time management so you can finish work as efficiently as possible and have better chances of getting more sleep,” said Elijah May. 

Makayla Gibbons’ greatest love in life is dancing. She is so dedicated as a member of the CCHS dance team that somebody can only describe her schedule as grueling. “We would have morning practices at 5:30, then regular practice after school, but then we would have another practice that wouldn’t be over till 10 pm,” she explained. I asked her about the effects that this had on school. According to Makayla, there was no homework time during this period, and they had to nap to catch up on sleep. I then asked her how long it took to get to school. Answering with a humorous look on her face, Makayla says it takes her 15 minutes to get to school overall. 

In general, the conclusions I made were fascinating. Students with the shortest commute times had the worst sleep due to busy schedules. It seems that changing school start times matters little when students get home late from their activities. The real question is how much a student is willing to take on. Is the price of sleep worth the participation in extracurricular activities? Perhaps when one asks how to get more sleep, one must first ask if they have the time to sleep.