There is this common joke that says that a pen is the most important tool in your life. Why? Because if you lose your pen, you can’t take notes in school; with no notes you can’t study, and if you can’t study, you’ll fail; if you fail, then you won’t get a diploma; no diploma may mean no job, which may lead to depression and a miserable life. That’s why a pen is most important thing in your life. Supposedly.

Your mental health and well being is most important in your life. From the start of middle school to the end of high school, life will become more serious.You’ll need to balance time with friends and family, homework, finances, studying, eating decently, maintaining a healthy sleep schedule, and thinking about future schools. That’s why growing up is one of the most difficult thing, everyone goes through at one point.

These issues are a part of students’ everyday lives. Many people don’t understand the lives of young adults and teenagers because life has changed so much between generations.

“I’ll go to sleep at 11:30 and wake up at 6, to get ready and then catch the only train I can take that stops every 40 minutes,” says sophomore Thomas Bajor.

Sleep is one of, if not the most important, part of our day. This vital biological activity gives individuals the energy needed to perform even the simplest of tasks, such as walking, concentrating, and conversing. Sleep serves to re-energize the body’s cells, clear waste from the brain, and support learning and memory. It even plays vital roles in regulating mood, appetite, and attention spans. Sleep allows one to be alert, insightful, and sharp. Sleep allows students to properly solve problems. When students do not get the optimal 8 to 10 hours of sleep that they need, they lose their ability to succeed academically. Students have trouble retaining information, coping with stress, and staying focused.

Most studies reviewed provide evidence that delaying school start time increases weeknight sleep duration among adolescents, primarily by delaying rise times. A study from The Impact of School Start Times on Adolescent Health and Academic Performance show the effects of not enough sleep for teenagers. Most of the studies saw a significant increase in sleep duration even with relatively small delays in start times of half an hour or so. Later start times also generally correspond to improved attendance, less tardiness, less falling asleep in class, better grades, and fewer motor vehicle crashes.

The NYC iSchool, located in SoHo, Manhattan, tries to help students with this issue, having school start at 9:00 am for all students, compared to the national average at 8:00 am. Even with the hour later start time, it’s still a struggle for some students.

Sophomore Jaylyn Padilla says that despite the later time, she still has to wake up very early. “ I have to wake up around 6:15 am every morning, and then take a 1 ½ hour  trip to school.” Padilla continues with, “Adding up time with friends, time it takes to get home, dinner and homework, I only get 5 to 6 hours of sleep per night.”

The iSchool’s lateness policy, like other urban schools, is that if you show up late to school (even one second late, you are not allowed to go out to lunch. Many students want to go outside during lunch and eat at the stores and businesses in the area.     

The travel time for students is a big factor when it comes to waking up and being late.Students will often fall asleep on their modes of transportation to school.  

A poll held at the iSchool asked students about their travel time to school, their sleeping hours, and the amount of lateness’s they get per quarter. The graph shown is the statistics of iSchool students get per night.  The greatest amount of sleep students get per night is 7 hours, which isn’t favorable compared to the preferred 8-10 hours for teenagers. The second highest is 6 hours, which is even worse. A healthy 9 hours is the 5th biggest percentage.

Freshman Lutetia has to wake up around 6:00 a.m. and leave her house at 6:50 a.m.. She takes  the 6:55 train. Today, she took the B train to West 4 street and it took her an hour, which make it a good day. When the trains are delayed, she takes the 7:32 train to 145st and transfers to the A train. That way takes her about an hour and a half to 2 hours. Many students like Lutetia will suffer if they get to school late by not being able to go outside for lunch.

Why should the punishment be no out lunch? Some kids leave the house without any breakfast and arrive to school late. Most students leave to get to school on time, and in NYC, you never know with the MTA. Countless times reported of MTA self errors causing major delays throughout the five boroughs. Students will be punished for things they have no control over.

Reports from a study held by the American Psychological Association (APA) have said that teens report that their stress level during the school year far exceeds what they believe to be healthy (5.8 versus 3.9 on a 10-point scale) and tops adults’ average reported stress levels (5.8 for teens versus 5.1 for adults). Even during the summer — between Aug. 3 and Aug. 31, 2013, when interviewing took place — “teens reported their stress during the past month at levels higher than what they believe is healthy (4.6 versus 3.9 on a 10-point scale). Many teens also report feeling overwhelmed (31 percent) and depressed or sad (30 percent) as a result of stress. More than one-third of teens report fatigue or feeling tired (36 percent) and nearly one-quarter of teens (23 percent) report skipping a meal due to stress”.

These stress and fatigue levels can almost directly to the amount of sleep the student gets.  On average, teens report sleeping far less than the recommended amount — 7.4 hours on school nights and 8.1 hours on non-school nights, compared with the 8.5 to 9.25 hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation. Nearly 1 in 5 teens (18 percent) say that when they do not get enough sleep, they are more stressed and 36 percent of teens report feeling tired because of stress in the past month.

The mind and body are closely connected, and stress can affect the body from head to toe. In fact, studies have shown that teens experience both emotional and physical symptoms of stress. Common symptoms include feeling nervous or anxious, feeling tired, procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities, feeling overwhelmed, having negative thoughts and experiencing changes in sleeping habits. Problems with concentrating and changes in eating habits (eating too much or too little) are also linked to stress.

And unless this is news to you, sleep is one of the most important things in your life. That’s why almost everyone will complain if they are tired. The human body is meant to be well rested and taken cared of, including mental health, like stress.  

In the recent iSchool poll, students’ wake up times were reported. Students will most likely go to sleep around 11:00 p.m. With that in mind, the poll shows the average wake up time. According to it, no students wake up after 8 a.m. on average. The average wake up time from the poll for students is 6:30 a.m. So assuming the student falls asleep at 11:00 p.m., they will get about 7 hours of sleep, which is unhealthy for growing adolescents.    

Bajor is well aware of the problems of not getting enough sleep. He lives in the southern part of the borough Queens, near long island. “I have to wake up that early because considering the time it takes me to get ready, I’ll be on time for the train. But if I miss it, then I’m screwed because the next one doesn’t come for another 40 minutes, and the train ride is an hour and 30 minutes.”

Throughout the midst of everything, things will get pretty rough. And they aren’t easy. But that’s why there are hundreds of campaigns working hard every day like (College Connection)  and Stress in School helping students maintain a level of independence without stressing about the workload in school. The balance of working hard in school and social skills are important for kids in high school. Just remember, things can always get better with help the from others.