Day in the life of a sleep-deprived high school freshman
My freshman year of high school was probably the worst year of my life, and I blame it entirely on my sleep schedule. Getting four to five hours of sleep a night and barely waking up on time for my first class made freshman year miserable for me. Like most high schoolers, I had a horrible procrastination habit and phone addiction, so I had my fair share of late nights flooded with essays and last-minute exam prep. Let me walk you through a typical day in my life and a reflection on what I would change if I could go back in time.
After my fifth alarm blared in my ears, I finally got up at 7:50 a.m., quickly prepared for the day by throwing on a sweatshirt and leggings and headed downstairs. I never made my lunch the night before, so I spent 30 seconds crafting the most nutritious meal you could imagine. And by that, I mean a granola bar, a bag of chips and maybe an apple. Today, you couldn’t catch me skipping breakfast or leaving the house without a water bottle, but 14-year-old me barely had time to wash her face in the morning, nonetheless eat a bowl of cereal or fill up a water bottle.
Once arriving at school, I sprinted up the stairs, only to walk into my first period five minutes late. With zero energy in my body, I took a seat and tuned out my teacher, on the verge of falling asleep as I could barely keep my eyes open. If I’m going to be honest, the majority of my classes were spent feeling like I was going to pass out from a combination of exhaustion, dehydration and a lack of food. Fast forward to me sitting in the clinic’s office a few times a month wanting to go home because I felt sick.
After an exhausting day of school, I headed to the gym for gymnastics practice. With minimal food in my body, doing three floor routines back-to-back felt like I was running a marathon. When I had a chance to catch my breath, I headed over to the water fountain to drink my first sips of water for the day. Leaving practice feeling exhausted and starving, I would get home around 8 p.m. I’d eat dinner, shower and scroll on my phone for the next few hours before finally dragging myself out of bed to start my homework. This often led to an extremely unproductive attempt at a three hour study session. Even after finishing my homework, I’d typically scroll on my phone or watch a show for another hour or so until I could no longer keep my eyes open.
Looking back on this time in my life, I truly wish I had just connected the dots on why I felt sick 24/7 and couldn’t get through a gymnastics practice without feeling like I was going to pass out. My lack of energy only made the cycle worse, as it made it more difficult to concentrate on homework, in turn making me stay up later. Working against these bad habits as soon as they started would’ve helped me significantly. I guarantee that eating breakfast and getting at least seven hours of sleep would have made me feel 10 times better. While I was miserable at the time, I think this period in my life taught me the importance of taking care of my body. Sleep directly impacted my mental and physical health, so moving forward I prioritized rest and limited my screen time to help with procrastination.
Today, my favorite part of my day is a slow morning routine, where I can take my time to wake up and get ready for the day. Waking up feeling well-rested and slowing down in the mornings truly calms me down before starting my day, allowing me not to rush going to my first class. It is crucial to make health your first priority, and I wish I realized that sooner.