Lack of sleep is not a badge of honor

Many students seem to take pride in getting little sleep. It’s no secret that doing late-night homework and waking up early (allegedly) by phone alarms has become part of the high school stereotype.

But as students pile more on their plate with busy classes, work and social schedules, we soon find ourselves in vicious cycles of sleepless nights that do no good whatsoever.

In the meantime, our proud claims of “I just pulled an all-nighter” seem to earn praise from our peers, who automatically assume that our late bedtimes translate to a dedicated work ethic.

I was one of those students last semester. I often found myself with a mountain of work to do at 1 a.m. and told myself I would be fine with a fix of venti coffee in the morning. What happened, though was that I got  sick more often, my attention span shortened and I performed worse in school and in basketball.

We know well enough that cutting sleep isn’t ever a healthy choice. So many studies have shown serious impairments caused by sleep deprivation, even when we feel like we’re fine. But our health will eventually pay the price. This semester, I decided to prioritize sleep and happiness, and I urge you to do it too. With excessive time, I can finally go to bed early, start studying for tests ahead of time instead of cramming right before, and do other things in my free time.

Besides, who doesn’t like sleep?