Students and adults claim to not be
getting enough sleep. The average teen
needs 9.5 hours per day, and adults need
about 7 hours. A Stanford Medicine study shows that 87% of American students at-
tending high school are sleep-deprived.

A bill awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s
signature that mandates start times for
middle and high schools, mandating
that high schools start at 8:30 a.m. Start
times do not include zero periods, as the
classes are not mandatory.
Barring a later start, we share tips from our nurses and counselors on getting a
good night’s rest.

Sleep consistently: Go to sleep at the
same time every night, and wake up at
the same time every morning. Also,
avoid naps during the day because they
make you stay awake at night.

Don’t procrastinate: Procrastinating keeps students up late doing work. Or-
ganize your work and get rid of distrac-
tions. Commit to the work you’re com-
pleting.

Keep a schedule: Good time man-
agement is important so you can finish

more work faster, and have free time af-
terward. Make a schedule and prioritize your tasks.

A good read: Reading a book before
going to bed can help you sleep better.
Read a couple of pages, and then go
straight to bed. This will relax your mind
and distract yourself from stress.

No tech before sleep: Stay away from
tech an hour before sleeping. Using your
phone, tablet, or computer delays and interrupts your sleep schedule.

Students, staff, and teachers have a
huge workload on top of their activities.
Social worker Kevin Nguyen said that
students come to him frequently about
having stress because of the lack of sleep
they’re getting.
“It manifests itself in different ways
like lack of sleep, like insomnia,” Nguyen
said. “Take a moment to slow down and
take a breath. Slow it down, and take care
of yourself.”