The sun has set. Dinner is well past. Teeth are brushed. Pajamas on. Are our fellow Jags working? Sleeping? Studying? Scrolling? 

Q: On average, how many hours of sleep do you get at night?

A: “I probably get about six on a good day,” Special Education teacher Gabe Ware said.

    “Eight and a half,” Special Education Secretary Lori Distin said. 

    “About five,” Kennedy Jeppson ‘25 said.

    “Seven or eight,” David Houlihan ‘25 said.

    “Like seven or eight,” Anthony Cortez ‘26 said.

    “On average, about seven,” Assistant Principal Ben Burns said. 

    “Probably eight. I get a good amount,” Ava Blanco ‘24 said.

Q: What things do you have going on that keep you from getting more sleep? 

A: “I tend to stay on my phone [at night],” Ware said. “Really, my mind just doesn’t shut off so I stay up.”

    “Sometimes, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and I can’t sleep,” Distin said. “And I’ll start looking at my phone just because I’m bored and I don’t want to stare at the ceiling, so then that ends up keeping me up.”

    “Work, and then homework. I work 32 hours a week,” Jeppson said 

    “Probably just homework,” Houlihan said.

    “Right now I’m doing a lot of Driver’s Ed, and since I’m on the cross country team, I have to save all of that for night,” Cortez said. 

    “I’m pretty involved,” Burns said. “My kids have a lot of activities and sports that they do. That keeps us busy. And I’m always checking my email and stuff at night, and I like to get up and run in the mornings.”

    “Practice. I play volleyball, and I’ve got high school volleyball and club volleyball, so I don’t get home until later. And then homework,” Blanco said. 

Q: Does getting too little sleep affect you at school, and how?

A: “I don’t feel like myself. I get a little cranky, tired, groggy. My mind just doesn’t seem like it’s always functioning properly,” Ware said. 

    “Yes. One thing that not getting enough sleep does is that it lowers my immune system so that I find myself starting to catch colds easier,” Distin said.

    “Yes. I keep falling asleep during my first period math class,” Jeppson said. 

    “If I don’t get enough sleep, I just am tired throughout the day,” Houlihan said.

    “Honestly, yeah. I don’t know why, but when I don’t get enough sleep, waking up in the morning absolutely sucks. And when I have to get myself to school, I just feel absolutely drained,” Cortez said. 

    “Absolutely. If I have a bad night’s sleep or don’t get enough sleep, or am supervising the dance until midnight like a couple of weeks ago, then I just don’t feel like myself. I feel groggy and struggle to have motivation to do the things I need to do,” Burns said. 

    “Yes. I just get really tired and I feel like I’m less engaged in class when I don’t sleep enough because I’m just zoned out,” Blanco said.  

Q: Do you have any tips or tricks to get more, or better, sleep?

A: “Melatonin has helped me quite a bit to get a good night’s sleep. Other than that, I try to tire my mind out. Maybe I’ll read a book or something,” Ware said. 

“I do better if I don’t have too much caffeine during the day. Also, if I remove all my makeup and brush my teeth really well and floss, then I feel like I’m ready for bed,” Distin said, 

“Use your off-time at school to really, really try to get your homework done and don’t drink very much caffeine during the day,” Jeppson said.

How many hours of sleep do you get at night?

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5 or less

6

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8

9 or more

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“Just try and get your homework done during Access at school,” Houlihan said.

“Just use time management to manage everything you have to do during the day, so you don’t have to do that much at night,” Cortez said.

“I think a really good idea is to set a goal for yourself of when you want to be asleep by and how much sleep you want to get, but then the biggest thing is to establish patterns and routines,” Burns said. “If you’re trying to go to bed at a different time every night, that’s going to be really hard. Even something as simple as sitting in the same spot on the couch and then brushing your teeth, and then doing all the things in the same order, just having a consistent routine, can really help your body know, even on a subconscious level, that, okay, it’s time to sleep.”

“I say not being on your phone and just trying to close your eyes, because when you close your eyes for a certain period of time, it shuts your body down and your brain goes to sleep. So, try your best to stay off your phone and not awake and moving, just let yourself lay in bed and doze off,” Blanco said.