by MaKenzie Hilling, News Editor
The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.
As an unexpected pandemic washes over the States and forces Ohio students out of the classroom, students see this opportunity to catch up on their favorite series. Students are finding it hard to maintain a routine when they have the freedom to sleep in until the afternoon. Many of these students admit that it is hard to find the motivation, they feel that online school looks like an option rather than being mandatory. These “vampire” students have a reverse sleep schedule, sleeping in the day and doing their work at night. Online school is a hard adjustment, but it is crucial for these students to find routine and be productive while in quarantine.
Many students find it better to wake up without the sound of their alarm, they are deciding to treat this quarantine like summer vacation. Sydney Lithiluxa (11) agrees that “waking up to my alarm starts my day off bad.” Sydney prefers to wake up whenever her body tells her to. Keeping to a day routine “is harder than I care to admit,” she is having trouble with “turning my work in early, I’ve hardly hit deadlines when I wake up late.” This student admits that “having the freedom to stay up late and watch netflix has definitely messed with my sleep schedule” (Lithiluxa). Sydney is trying to make more of an effort to keep a routine in her “Coronacation” and start going to bed earlier. Similar to some students, some teachers took awhile to get back into a routine as well. Mrs. Cote, a teacher at Hilliard Bradley, confesses that “In the beginning I was sad and anxious about what we as a society are going through,” she spent most of her time “watching the news and on the internet.” Mrs. Cote has settled down and made herself a schedule that “limits [her] free time to activities that are more productive.” Keeping a system within your day is a great first step to settling down during quarantine.
To maintain a good sleep schedule is hard when staying up late has no consequences. Many students have fallen into the nighttime activities and the daytime naps, but many students have fallen into the familiar schedule of a school day. Elizabeth Hienton (11) has made herself keep a similar routine to school, she wakes before 10 and gets her cheer exercise and school work down before 2 p.m. everyday. She says “having to work while in quarantine made me find a routine quickly, I have to have my work down before I leave for my 2:30-9 p.m. shift.”
Mrs. Waller, a psychology teacher at Hilliard Bradley, agrees that keeping a daytime routine is better for teens than a late night binge watch. She explains that “our bodies run on a 24-hour cycle called a circadian rhythm,” this affects how people perform during certain hours of the day. Although following a school day is a good idea, Mrs. Waller thinks “use this quarantine as an opportunity to get rest, teen bodies and minds are still changing and growing.” Students find trouble in setting routines when their body wants them to sleep, but once they have one set, they seem to follow it to the T.
As quarantine continues and lockdown stays in place, keeping to a set schedule can help students be more productive with their time. In times like these, finding normalcy is a way to keep calm and keep moving.