Normally, a high school student should be getting roughly 8-10 hours of sleep a night. That might sound like a lot, especially when you’re staring at a pile of homework at 10:30 p.m., but that’s what experts say our bodies and brains really need. Our brains are still developing, and sleep helps with memory, focus, and learning.
It’s hard to get 8-10 hours every night when you also have outside-of-school activities and still have to do homework when you get home. Your body needs to get into a routine of going to bed at a decent time and waking up at a decent time.
Most high school students drink energy drinks to help them stay awake to finish their schoolwork. Not only are energy drinks bad for you, but it is worse to drink one at night time to stay awake. Energy drinks have a lot of caffeine. Caffeine can stay in your system for 6–8 hours. So if you drink one at 8 or 9 p.m., you might have trouble falling asleep, get way less than the 8–10 hours teens need, feel super tired the next day, and end up in a cycle of needing more caffeine. It is actually better for you to wake up early and have an energy drink than to stay up at night. Though it is better to have one in the morning than at night, it is still not a good source of energy. Energy drinks can make you jittery, cause crashes later, increase anxiety, and raise your heart rate. It is better to drink water, tea, or coffee than a strong energy drink.
Time management also means breaking big assignments into smaller parts. If you have a project due Friday, don’t wait until Thursday night. Do a little bit each day. It makes everything less stressful and helps you avoid those late nights. Getting enough sleep is important for focus, mood, and performance in school and sports. If you’re exhausted from staying up late doing homework, it can actually hurt your performance at that Tuesday game and in class the next day. So really, managing your time isn’t just about getting good grades. It’s about protecting your sleep and your health. Planning ahead, asking questions early, and spreading out your work can help you stay on top of things without sacrificing your rest.
To maintain a good sleep schedule:
- Go to sleep earlier, wake earlier, and do the homework or study in the morning.
- It’s important to maintain a balanced diet.
- Manage your time well
- Time management means breaking big assignments into smaller parts. If you have a project due Friday, don’t wait until Thursday night. Do a little bit each day. It makes everything less stressful and helps you avoid those late nights. Getting enough sleep is important for focus, mood, and performance in school and sports.
- Plan ahead
- For example, if you know you have a game on Tuesday night, you already know you’re probably going to get home late and be tired. So instead of waiting until Tuesday to think about homework, you can plan on Monday. You could ask your teacher on Monday if there’s any Tuesday night homework you can get early. That way, you can start it ahead of time and not feel rushed. Even if the teacher can’t give it to you early, you can still use Monday to get ahead on other assignments. Maybe finish your math instead of just starting it, or do your English reading a day early. That way, when Tuesday comes, your workload is lighter, and you’re not trying to do everything at 10:30 p.m. after a long game.
