A Great Lack of Time

Twenty-four hours.

That is all. It seems like a lot of time at first, but when you factor in eight hours of sleep, roughly seven and a half hours spent at school, an hour to get ready, an hour and a half for meals, two to three hours of extracurricular activities or sports, and thirty to forty minutes of homework multiplied by five academic classes per night, you are left with maybe an hour or two of free time, if you are lucky. Of course these estimates do not factor in the crippling procrastination thousands upon thousands of teenagers experience daily.

While definitely not applicable to all high school students, the above timetable, or one like it, is an unfortunate reality that plagues the lives of a great number of fourteen to eighteen year-olds throughout the country during the nine (or more) months of the school year. It may seem demanding, but to get ahead in our society, many teenagers are expected to have piles of homework, plus an activity or sport that receives their undivided attention and dedication. But high-schoolers are still just kids, and this much structure and constant obligations can actually do more harm than it can good.

High levels of stress are not healthy for anyone. Neither is a lack of sleep. Reportedly, teenagers need 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep per night, but that much sleep is often a rarity for busy young people.

J. Christian Gillin, MD, the coauthor of a study on sleep deprivation in which young people took a simple language test directly following a long period of staying awake, writes, “Sleep deprivation is bad for your brain when you are trying to do high-level [thinking] tasks. It may have serious consequences both on performance and on the way your brain functions.” The scenario tested in this study mirrors what many teenagers in high schools across the country go through upon coming to school and attempting to function well academically after a night of minimal sleep. The truth is, many students are actually impaired in the mornings, not just lazy, despite what teachers might tell you.

Marissa Delgado, Class of ’15, is a part of student council, captain of the Varsity girls’ Water polo team, plays softball, and on top of that takes statistics at wrestling tournaments.

She says about her busy schedule, “I know sometimes I lack sleep, so I’ll sleep in class, which affects my education. I know [my busy schedule] also triggers stress and stress triggers so many other things too, like not being healthy, and then sometimes skipping breakfast because I’m rushing to school.”

About how homework contributes to creating a lack of time, Delgado comments, “It depends on the class, but some teachers tend to forget that we’re still teenagers. And for athletes like me, we’re already dedicated to a sport.”

Students with intense schedules, such as athletes, actors, and those students with after school jobs, are continuously occupied with their many activities and obligations throughout the day.

Often, this is by choice; as Delgado says, “I actually like being involved. I’ve never really felt obligated to do something. It’s my choice.” A good percentage of students truly do thrive on being busy and accomplishing a lot, both academically and outside of school.

Others see it differently. Some students feel obligated to overachieve to appear desirable to selective colleges or even sometimes to appease their parents’ expectations, taking way more AP classes than they can handle and overcommitting themselves to extracurriculars. But every day, these teenagers find themselves pushing well past their limits, and not in the good way. And as for those who choose to embrace the freedom of youth while they still can, they are commonly dismissed as underachievers, lazy, or uncaring, when often all they are doing is looking out for their own wellbeing.

James Walter, Class of ’17, comments, “It’s good to relax, because everyone needs time to recharge. You have to balance your life out.”

According to a collection of scientific studies synthesized by the Huffington Post, relaxation has many tangible benefits to one’s health. Taking time out every day to relax and generally avoiding high levels of stress in one’s life protects the heart, lowers the risk of catching a cold, improves memory, lowers the risk of stroke, helps prevent clinical depression, eases acne, and improves decision making.

So for overwhelmed teenagers, the demands of school and the pressure to be involved need not come before the basics of life, that is, personal health and general wellbeing or happiness,  if it can be helped. Sleep deserves to hold a valued place within any crazy, non-stop life. And (surprise!), so does just taking a break for a couple of hours to relax and watch some good old T.V.