“Sleep is for the weak.”

The mantra repeated in my head until it had lost all meaning. After all, I have to push myself through these last 30 pages of reading before tomorrow’s test, right? I’ll sleep over the weekend. Gotta keep going.

I knew it was a lie, as the weekend would only bring more assignments. So then when does the busy Harker student find rest? So went the tale of my last seven semesters.

Finally free from the fetters of college applications, I outlined a list of resolutions for the final semester of high school. Amid the clutter of movies, television shows, and books to explore was my goal of sleep: this semester, I aim to sleep at least nine hours three nights a week.

I had prioritized academic work and social engagements over sleep for too long that I had eventually grown habituated to my sleep-deprived state. Disregarding the lessons of sleep discussed in my psychology and biology classes, my sleep cycle had grown so out of whack that I felt chronically tired. What you learned in class tends not to sink in when you’re re-reading the book at 2 A.M. Harker students sometimes take pride in their lack of sleep: it is not uncommon to overhear conversations about studying that devolve into “who slept the least” competitions.

Last year, Harker alumnus and current Stanford student Curran Kaushik (‘10) wrote a letter to the editor regarding the benefits of a good night’s rest. “Make sleep a priority,” he advised. The simplest of suggestions often fly over our heads, but it’s factors like sleep that we must keep in mind all the time. If an activity consumes a third of our lives, it’s probably important.

A part of me feels like I miss out on some of the world if I tuck myself in promptly at 9:45 every night. But making this minor sacrifice allows me to enjoy the 15 hours for which I am awake even more.

Sleeping nine hours a day is a difficult adjustment to make. From numerous academic assignments to the evil temptress that is Netflix Instant Stream, prioritizing sleep does not happen overnight. But the gradual adaptation is worth the extra time and effort.

The difference is like a commercial for Claritin Clear: ingesting that sleep drug keeps me thinking positively more often and more attentive in class, so I don’t have to stay up late at night relearning what was discussed in class, thus breaking that nasty cycle of sleep deprivation.

Now this isn’t to say that nine hours of sleep a day is absolutely necessary for all. Some can do function just as effectively on less, but it’s hard for the majority of us. I’ve learned that making the prioritization of sleep a hard-and-fast rule is difficult; certain situations show that the benefits of staying awake another hour to study or socialize can outweigh those of sleeping.

I do not aim to preach on the values of sleep to my readers; rather, I hope that you can learn from my experiences and draw your own conclusions about sleep. The school’s study-now, sleep-later culture proves unproductive for our community, and personally, changing sleep habits have proven successful for the most part.

This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on March 12, 2014.