Margot Lee | A&E Editor
October 17, 2025
The idea that students are deprived of sleep is nothing new, but at what point do students need to sacrifice an assignment in order to get a full night’s rest?
In an age of intense academic competition, students feel the need to spend every moment of free time working. Whether it be to chase academic validation, or to build perfect, college-ready resumes, students are pushing themselves to the limit. From sports to clubs to part-time jobs, this race to be the best can often sacrifice the 8-10 hours of sleep that is recommended for teenagers.
Are students packing their schedules too full? The average schedule of an AP or Honors student often starts promptly at 7:17am, demanding rigorous classes, sports practice in the afternoon, and a part-time job in the evening. This leaves weekends for internships, volunteering, and catching up on homework and studying.
Taking the hardest possible courses and piling on extracurriculars has created an unhealthy culture of academic competition. Now, more than ever, a student’s success is defined by outperforming their peers, rather than reaching one’s personal academic goals. McLayne Baker, a freshman at SCHS, admitted that “the constant competition” makes her feel like she is “never good enough.” Baker added that when comparing grades and scores with her peers, her “motivation completely tanks.”
As this continues, lack of sleep has become a weird badge of honor, a sign of dedication rather than an indicator to focus in class. Senior athlete and IB diploma candidate Macie Armbruster confessed that with her schedule of an unnerving eight classes, including Theory of Knowledge and Swim, she’s “lucky if [she] gets six hours of sleep per night.” Exhaustion has become a sign of ambition and success. Students are beginning to believe sleep is optional. Now, bragging about late night study sessions is more socially acceptable than putting the books down and going to bed early.
Sleep is a biological necessity, yet the line between hard work and self-destruction is blurred. Sometimes, letting go of an assignment is the healthier choice if the alternative is sleep deprivation and burnout. Success is not defined by someone else’s perfect score, it should be judged by personal improvement.
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