<p>Does anyone think their boarding school peers suffer from sleep deprivation? It's common to find people in the dorm who stay up until 2:00 am to finish that English essay or cram for their physics test. Then, wake up at 6:00 am to finish their French homework. Feel free to discuss how we can solve this problem.</p>
<p>Best,
-orangesrule108</p>
<p>Hi.
I go to Choate. And I would say that the ones who are suffering from sleep deprivation are the ones that don’t manage their time well, or are involved in too many tough classes and clubs that are really time consuming. But I think mostly it depends on your time management. I have a friend who takes 5 classes, two of which are honors classes, and doesn’t do a sport, but ends up studying until 1:30 each night. I however, take 6 classes, one of which is an honors class, play two sports, and am involved in 3 clubs and community service, but have never stayed up past 12 doing work.</p>
<p>Short answer: it really depends on the person.</p>
<p>Can I ask you what form you’re in? I know that the work from freshman year escalates as you get older. Also, to everyone, is there a way to solve this problem?</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore at Lawrenceville. I rarely stay up past 12, and when I do, it’s not to finish my work. The teachers give really reasonable amounts of homework. The ones who suffer from sleep deprivation are those who procrastinate a lot and/or are unable to manage their time well.</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore. Work does escalate, but I think that’s true about high schools all over the world. A lot of people think that Junior year is the hardest, whereas freshman year is the easiest.</p>
<p>Do you yourself suffer from sleep deprivation? Is the homework load utterly unmanageable, or is it just poor time management?</p>
<p>im a sophomore at bs and i don’t feel like i suffer from sleep deprivation. i get about 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If I work hard and manage my time well i get it done with ample amount of sleep and free time. (i just like waking up early, i could get another hour of sleep.
Sometimes I, and maybe you if you choose bs, will choose to watch tv instead of doing hw and then you’re up late. sometimes you just have a crapload of work. it happens.</p>
<p>I am at Mercersburg and I think (like Justagirl) the students who have sleep depravation are the ones who over extend themselves or don’t use their time wisely. Also, our school has an 8:50 start time which allows students to sleep later in the morning</p>
<p>I’m a freshman at boarding school. Honestly, people at my school are like “Sleep? Rest? That doesn’t exist”. I feel like my weekends are devoted to sleep and getting ahead on work for the next week. I manage my time really well, but am also really involved with sports, clubs, honors classes, etc. It really helps, though, those few random sleep-in days we have gotten. And, people go absolutely nuts for the 2 free days during the year because they can sleep until noon. As far as the number of hours of sleep I get each night, it depends on how early I get up. I’ve woken up as early as 5:15 before for classes that start at 8, but my roommate has gotten up at 4:30 a couple times. I’ve been so tired before that I’ve accidentally fallen asleep during study hall, and I know others have, as well.</p>
<p>@robinmb311: If you don’t mind me asking, which school do you go to?</p>
<p>There have been a few nights in which i slept from 12-3, but most nights I can get to sleep before 12. Granted, I have not yet experienced the infamous Upper Year</p>
Justagirl3847, I would have to disagree with you. I am a current sophomore at Choate, and I can tell you that I am extremely sleep deprived throughout the school year, and it’s not because I manage my time poorly. I am currently taking 6 classes, 5 of which are honors and AP, and I rarely get more than 7 hours of sleep per night. I do clubs like Model UN, the News, am a member of Student Council, and overall, I’m involved on campus and my demanding schedule doesn’t give much leeway to poor time management. Also, at boarding schools, tons of people are sleep deprived. A lot of my friends at Choate and other boarding schools forfeit their sleep in order to get good grades, especially with a rigorous schedule (classes + sports + EC’s). Then again, I’m a day student, and my commute is 40 minutes, so I have to get up at 6 AM every day, which also contributes to my sleep deprivation.
That’s rough @historykid38! What time do classes start at Choate?
I’ll echo what’s been said: time management is key. Even though this is junior year, I rarely get less than 7 hours of sleep a night, and I’d say many nights I get 8. That might change as we head into winter…
I’m an anomaly, though. I get more sleep than most.
You’re the exception if you’re not sleep deprived at Exeter. It’s common to get 5-6 hours on a bad night. A good night is 7 hours for most.
@GryffinHunter that’s what my kid has experienced.
My kids are both sleep deprived- but not due to the workload. They both struggle with pretty severe insomnia.
I’m currently at Andover and although the homework load is very demanding, planning your time is key. If I have extra time during my lunch period or if I have a free period, I always start my homework then, which gets in 45 minutes. My sport then starts at 6:00 p.m. so from 2:45-5:45 I try to get most of it done. I get back to my dorm around 8:15 and I usually finish homework around 10:15. I’m in bed by 11:00p.m. and I wake up at 7:15a.m., which is plenty of sleep. During this time I am completely focused, but I’ll take a 10-minute break every 45 minutes. Clubs and extracurriculars vary for each day, so this is a standard schedule. But then again, workload also varies. You can receive anywhere from one hour to six hours of homework each night, so on nights with a lighter workload, try to get ahead and get homework done for the days ahead. I know people who manage their time awfully and get 3-4 hours of sleep each night, but they are complete procrastinators. If you plan your time and follow a routine schedule, you will get plenty of rest.
There are days when workload is very intense can lead to sleep deprivation in spite of managing time efficiently. And then to make matter worse, an announced quizzes takes place and plays havoc with grades as you are busy studying for the other subject, home work, clubs etc. etc.
It is pressure cooker environment sometimes, but one has to learn how to manage it. Parents can only say to kid, please take a deep breath and you will live
I think it can be a pressure cooker regardless of BS or not BS. If one takes a rigorous course load at a top private school, there will be the same kind of stresses and workload.