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Junior Year Insomnia
"I wondered whether junior year is more than just a college prep year. Is this also the prep year to the world of the eternally sleepless and stressed?"
By Pavitha Mohan
Listen to this Commentary!
Youth Radio's Pavithra Mohan finds it hard to get sleep at night with all she has to do...and she's only a junior in high school. Pavithra wonders if junior year is more than just a college prep year. (April 5 on KQED)
Now that I’m a junior in high school, I can understand the lengths some people will go for a good night’s sleep.
There’s a new salon in Manhattan for overworked, under-slept New Yorkers. Private rooms – equipped with dimmed lighting and calming music - can be rented for pricey power naps. In my most rigorous year of high school, I could definitely use one of those.
Junior year is a medley of conflicting expectations and standards…from school, home and even my future college.
My mom expects to see A’s whenever she logs on to the school’s online grading system. But she yells if I stay up working after one am. My AP teachers say I have to put in at least two hours of work per day for every one of the three AP classes I’m taking. But one AP teacher asks me if I’m sleeping enough. See what I mean?
With college applications right around the corner, I’m willing to sacrifice a few extra hours of sleep to boost my G.P.A. And even if I could find the time to snooze, I’m facing an uphill battle.
I read a study that claimed it’s almost impossible for teens to maintain an early bedtime due to both schoolwork and body chemistry. The study found that production of sleep-inducing melatonin decreases as puberty hits. The problem is I can’t walk into class late and blame my tardiness on low melatonin levels. Even my bio teacher wouldn’t accept that excuse!
So when I read about those exhausted New Yorkers I wondered whether junior year is more than just a college prep year. Is this also the prep year to the world of the eternally sleepless and stressed?
Unfortunately, there’s no trendy sleep salon around the corner from me. But the soothing power of my warm bed beckons. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to take a well-deserved nap.
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