By Oliver Hale '21
The quarantine has left many in sleep limbo.
With new irregular schedules that have some students waking up in the afternoon one day and then early morning another day, many students are feeling significant effects of the quarantine and distance learning on their sleep.
The distance learning schedule varies with some students having their first class at 8:45 a.m. and others having their first class mid-morning. This variation is useful for learning and is interesting, but it is easy to fumble time management and mess up your sleep schedule.
Some students are positive about it, with Willem Peters ’21 saying, “It’s better.” He refused to comment further. “I get to sleep later and go to bed later... so I’m happy,” said Spencer Villanueva ’21. “Overall the amount of hours I’m sleeping has gone up.” Personally, my sleep has gotten better because I can get lots more sleep and take naps. I can wake up later and go to bed later, so I have more time in the evening.
Other students are having trouble, like Wilbur Hayes ’21, who typically goes to bed at 2:30 a.m. When he inevitably must wake up early he feels like he’s “gonna die, … exhausted because I have a lot of homework and my sleep schedule isn’t great,” he said. Indeed, Hayes is not alone as many students struggle with falling asleep after being on a screen all day.
In any case, this difficult schedule is leaving students with unprecedented decisions to make about their sleep schedule and time management. Students must decide how and when to do their homework, chores, exercise and more, and manage their sleep at the same time which can be difficult.
At the end of the day, the student body seems to be torn on the issue, as some students are happy with their new schedules and some students in agony.