Each morning, students of Hollis Brookline High School  roll out of bed before the sun is up, quickly get ready, and are on their way to school.  Walking through a high school hallway, one of the most common things you hear is “I’m so tired!” So now the question becomes why?  What can we do to fix it?

The recommended amount of sleep is 8.5 to 9.5 hours for teenagers. A high majority of people do not get this much sleep. “On an average school night I fall asleep anywhere from 11pm to 1am. I normally only get 5-6 hours of sleep a night,” says Emily Pearson ‘18. A lack of sleep  not only leaves people dragging behind, both mentally and physically, but it leads to a higher rate of obesity, depression and also an increase in car accidents.

Some say teenagers just need to go to bed earlier, this does not hold any grounds in reality due to a person’s circadian rhythm, which also explains why students find it difficult to wake up. According to Medical Discovery News, “Circadian rhythm is the internal body clock that regulates biological processes in a 24 hour cycle.” With this being said, teens have a hard time falling asleep at night and also a harder time waking up early in the morning, it’s just biology.

This is a rising issue that people are just starting to realize needs a solution. So what is the best solution? Push back the school start times seems to be the most logical. It’s very hard for students to learn while they are half asleep.

Madoc Lewis ‘19 agrees that if he was able to get more sleep, he would be more likely to want to come to school. The logistics can be worked out with in Hollis Brookline just like many other schools have done. According to SchoolStartLater.net, over 100 schools within 44 states have had higher success rates, within areas such as attendance, athletics and higher test scores.

The goal is to make sure Hollis Brookline continues to succeed and excel past all expectations.  This could be the next step towards making Hollis Brookline the best it can be.