A classroom is a place of learning until it turns into a place where you can take a nap. Sleep is something that a lot of students spend a lot of time thinking about, when can I get more of it, can I get it during class, do I need to get it right now, but when it comes down to it very few kids actually prioritize their sleep.

Elizabeth Kaechele, 10, and Wyatt Pollom, 10, are both bright student who work hard every day to complete their work and do the thing they enjoy but what does that mean for their sleep. Keckle says during her busiest time she is involved in eight different thing in the school and outside of it, but only get five to six hour of sleep. On the other hand, Pollum is involved in only two to three things, but get eight to nine hours of sleep every night.

“[Sleep is on] the top three [of my priority list] because it helps me function and whenever I feel good I can actually have energy and it makes me enjoy everything in life, so it’s a big priority,” said Pollom.

Everyone knows that sleep is important to their daily lives. On the sleep foundation’s “Teens and Sleep” page they compare it to food for the brain. It goes on to say that if you don’t give your brain the food it will take it. This is the grogginess that a lot of people feel or in some cases, it is when they fall asleep without meaning to. In it’s worse form this happens while a person is driving and can cause car accidents and even death.

“I know whenever I get a good night’s rest then I function better at school. I’m not tired, I’m not wanting to go to bed at school and just falling on the dest,” said Pollom, “So I feel better and I actually enjoy school better.”

However, many students are also involved in a lot of school activities that require them to get to school early and then stay after and only after this do they have time to eat dinner and do their homework. This keeps them from getting the good nights rest that they need.

It’s an old stand by that being involved in a lot of extracurriculars leads to getting into a good college. Beyond that many kids have a lot of different interests that drives them to be involved in many different kinds of extracurriculars.

“Some parts [of being involved] makes me feel like I am part of a thing and I know I’m doing something instead of just sitting at home…,” explained Kaechele, “but other times it gets kind of stressful and I have to please so many people doing thing, but overall it’s a good thing to be involved.”

It’s hard to say whether a student should focus on their sleep and appreciate the last breath of freedom before the plunge of adulthood. It equally hard to say that a student shouldn’t be involved in as many different extracurriculars as they want to be. Like all important topics, there will always be a middle ground to find. Somewhere ahead of making all your decisions around sleep and behind being so involved that you never see the light of day.