What is the difference between night and day? Well for one, when the sun goes down and the sky turns to darkness, that usually signals it is time to go to sleep. Right? However, more and more students are constantly missing out on this precious sleep.

The school year always presents itself with many challenges. Not only are seniors trying to trudge through their last year of high school, but are also weighed down with college applications and paperwork. Juniors are adjusting to the amount of work they have to balance, on top of prepping for the SAT and beginning their college search. Sophomores and freshmen take advantage of good study habits and sleep because as the years progress, students get less and less of it.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep “is like food for the brain”. Without it, students have a more difficult time focusing, memorizing information, staying on task, and limiting in ability. The average teen on a school night reportedly gets about eight hours a night, barely hitting the minimum of eight to ten recommended to function at his or her best (National Sleep Foundation). Junior Michael Hill says that “it is important to get at least eight hours of sleep, but with early morning meetings and late night studying, it is hard to find those extra hours”.

On the weekends, students usually reserve this time to catch up on sleep and stay up late. However, this messes with a student’s biological clock, not only hurting the quality of his or her sleep, but making it difficult to fall asleep during the school week. Most teens are unable to fall asleep before 11 pm allowing for a skewed biological sleep pattern. Add on all a student’s extracurriculars and homework plus some personal time, and sleep can sometimes miss the priority.

Naps seem like a good idea, however, too close to bedtime and it can interfere with a student’s regular sleep. Playing on a phone, looking at a screen, and sometimes eating before bed, too can also increase the difficulty of falling into a fitful sleep.

Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, even throughout the weekends, can make trying to fall asleep less of a hassle and more easy. Try not to procrastinate as much and turn off the phones, students find themselves much more on task without the needed distractions. Remember, sleep is just as important as becoming a regular part of a student’s routine than anything else.

Take one night as a treat if you can, and enjoy going to bed before that clock strikes midnight.