Photo courtesy of senior Talia Doane

  Many San Luis Obispo High School students have weekend jobs that start very early in the morning. This causes a lack of sleep even on the weekends, when students are supposed to sleep in. 

  Going to sleep late and waking up early on school days has already messed up student sleep schedules. Waking up early on the weekends is messing it up even more.

  “I worked at Del Monte Cafe during the school year and for the summer. My lack of sleep from waking up early for school coupled with my seven a.m. shift led me to leave Del Monte in order to prioritize catching up on my rest,” said junior Gia Anselmo. 

  Sleep is detrimental to maintaining good physical and emotional health. Recent national polls from Stanford Medical show that more than 87 percent of U.S. high school students get less than the recommended eight to 10 hours of sleep per night.

  Some may say that waking up early in the morning on the weekends is preparing you for real life once high school is over. This may seem true, but growing adolescents need far more sleep than the average adult. Sleep deprivation paired with the stress of high school is not good for any teenager’s mental, physical, or emotional health.

  From a personal standpoint working at House of Bagels, waking up earlier on the weekends than I do during the weekdays is not how I would like to spend my time, nor does it help my already messed up sleep schedule. The weekends are meant for students, including myself, to catch up on sleep. Working a 6:30 a.m. shift aids the lack of sleep among high schoolers.

  Working early in the morning is not healthy for any teengers who needs their solid eight to 10 hours of sleep per night. Get a later job, and get sleep.

Source: med.stanford.edu