It's 8:00 a.m. but it feels earlier. You take a drink from the cup of coffee sitting on your desk and wish you were home in bed. You attempt to rub the sleep from your groggy eyes, but your effort fails. Your teacher's voice fades into oblivion as you slowly fall into the world of slumber. You're not a poor student nor simply a rude adolescent. You are a teenager, and you're tired. And you're not alone.
"I feel like I'm never awake in the morning," said junior Brooke White, who sleeps an average of six hours a night. "I don't wake up until lunch."
According to the American Sleep Disorders Association, a Minnesota-based organization dedicated to consolidating sleep research from around the country, the average teenager needs around 9.5 hours of sleep per night. Yet a random poll conducted by the The Arrow shows the average FHS student musters an average of only 7.4 hours - far short of the desired quota for healthy teens.
"Stress, homework and apathy" are senior Brandan Schulze's explanations for why the National Commission on Sleep Disorders reports young adults get 20 percent less sleep than they did 100 years ago.
Work, study and extra-curricular activities continue to displace hours many teens would spend sleeping. Early-graduate Brian Nielson is a prime example.
Involved in extra-curricular activities and an honors student currently attending FVCC, Nielson holds a full-time job at Finnegans.
"I get about two-and-a-half or three hours of sleep" on school nights, said Nielson, who works from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. at Finnegans, at times going 20 to 36 hours without sleep.
Although Nielson feels he has somewhat adapted to his intense schedule, claiming he'd "almost be too tired after six or eight hours of sleep," he still finds it difficult to survive on so little sleep.
"I have made friends with Coke and coffee" and at time have resorted to caffeine tablets, said Nielson.
While not every teenager's case is as extreme as Nielson's, many students are bombarded with busy schedules.
"I'm in honors classes so I get honors homework," said junior Laura Paisley, who takes seven classes and participates in tennis and drama. "Time for myself is very important to me. One of the reasons I go to bed later is that I try to take some time to unwind and never go to bed stressed-out."
Early cheerleading practices and seminary cause senior Kara Clark to rise at 5:30 a.m. on weekdays.
"Some weeks it's really bad, but usually I'm pretty energetic," said Clark. "My body adapts to getting less sleep."
Junior Steve Satterly is another student whose alarm clock is set early because of morning activities. A swimmer with the FHS swim team, Satterly practices at 6 a.m., five mornings a week.
"It's not as hard getting up so early as it is going to sleep at night," said Satterly, illustrating the fact that the biological sleep-clock is naturally turned back during adolescence, making many teens inclined to stay up later.
"Sleep is very important to me," said Satterly. "Second and third (periods) are my wake-up periods."
A lack of sleep at night often causes students to catch up at the most opportune time, often during class.
"Grades have never been a problem," said Nielson. "But I probably doze off a lot during class."
"I get the urge to fall asleep in class about once a day on average," agreed junior Robyn Rose. "I'm the most tired during third period."
Personal finance teacher Ron Bain is one teacher who has noticed tired students in his classroom. "After lunch is the worst," said Bain. "Students have eaten their carbohydrates and their stomachs are digesting their food."
Arrow polls show class-fatigue may affect students' academic performance. Forty-three percent of students who sleep more than eight hours a night during the school week are "A" students, compared to only 30 percent of those who sleep less than eight hours.
Many teenagers say they have adjusted to surviving on less sleep, but claim being tired affects their day, usually for the worse.
Said White: "I'd just be happier if I slept more."
Happier - and healthier.
According to the Brain Information Service (BISleep), a neuroscience research organization at UCLA, sleep is especially important during the high school years, as teens' bodies grow and change.
A natural function that slows metabolism, heartbeat and respiration to provide relief from physical activity, sleep makes teens mentally sharper, provides an outlet for dreaming and triggers a growth hormone to renew tissues, form red blood cells and promote bone formation.
The solution for sleepy students is simple, says White. "We just need a nap period."
Although Seventeen magazine agrees that the most natural time to sleep is between 1 and 4 in the afternoon, schools aren't likely to abandon history or pre-calculus anytime soon. If sleep patterns in teens proceed as they have over the last century, students will continue to spend more time at the job or school and less time at home in bed.
Said junior Brandon Barnett: "If I could have one thing more in my life, it would be one more hour in the day - and I'd probably sleep."