Why Are We Always So Tired?

You know the familiar feeling. You wake up and go to school early, entering your first class as your teacher starts teaching. But for some reason, you constantly yawn, can barely open your eyes up, and before you know it your arms are on your desk while you lay your head on them, fast asleep. Being tired has basically become a norm for us highschoolers. It's a relatable feeling to you and your fellow peers, but being tired all the time is not just a “teenager thing.” It's a real phenomena, but how does it happen in the first place?

Doctors and sleep experts say that teenagers should get around 8 to 10 hours of sleep every night. I myself, and probably you guys too, are guilty of that though. All of us have stuff that we do everyday like homework, sports, clubs, jobs, and we prioritize those usually over sleep. For example, we may think staying up until midnight to finish a summative assignment feels like a smart move at the moment, but the loss of sleep adds up.

Scientists state that during our teenage years, our body's clocks (circadian rhythms) actually shift later. That means our brains naturally don’t feel sleepy until later at night, but that means we’re wired to wake up later in the morning too. So, when you can’t fall asleep at, let's say, 9 pm, that is actually your circadian rhythm changing and not your laziness.

The problem is, the school schedule we all have when school starts and ends doesn’t change. Many high schoolers, like us, start school super early, which interferes with how our bodies’ clock works. When you have to wake up at 6 am, your brain will still think it's the middle of the night. However, some schools recently have started to implement a later ‘start’ time for students to sleep more and feel better.

Another problem emerges when you consider that us teens are in the age of peak phone usage. Scrolling for just a few minutes can turn into an hour pretty easily, and the bright screen can make it harder for your brain to wind down. Adding in group chat texting, TikTok, and maybe one more episode of a TV show you were watching, and now it’s suddenly 1 am. Most of us should know when we should put the phone down before sleep, and we should be aware of how much time we spend on them.

Now, to get through the school day, most of us rely on caffeine. We drink coffee, energy drinks, and maybe even sodas to get through the day, but these caffeine intakes can mess with your sleep later, which makes you more tired tomorrow, which makes you want more caffeine; it’s a loop. And the stress of school doesn’t help either. We have tests, grades, and maybe even friend drama that can keep our minds running even when our bodies are tired.

So what can we actually do about it? Small stuff helps like setting a time when you stop using your phone, keeping a regular sleep schedule (even on weekends), and stop using caffeine in the afternoon. We could have bigger changes, like schools having later start times, but that would take schools having to listen to students and who knows how many students are willing to persist on this change anyway. So maybe our first step is to just admit we’re all tired for real reasons, and to stop doomscrolling every night instead of studying (hehe 🤫).