We’ve all been there before. Yesterday, you got a brand new alarm, setting it for early morning to get a good start on the day. The alarm goes off, but now you have a choice. Do you stay in bed, getting a few more minutes of sleep, or do you get up now, staying on script and getting an earlier start to the day, but sacrificing those precious zzz’s?

Beginning in our teenage years, our bodies become naturally wired to be more active at night, and therefore go to sleep later and attempt to wake up later. This process does not agree with school starting at 8:30. Our bodies want to stay up later and sleep in later than they would for school because of our internal clocks. This is where alarm clocks come in, saving the day and waking you up before school starts by screeching into your ears until you get up. This “delightful” sound can be stopped by hitting the snooze bar on top, but if you do, you risk sleeping in too late, waking up moments before school begins, or even after the bus leaves.

Many of us probably force ourselves to get up at the alarm, but there are just those days when the bed is very appealing (very). But does sleeping in like this have impacts on our daily life?… Of course! We base our entire morning schedule on when we wake up. When we get up, dictate when to get breakfast, when to get extra work done, and when to get on the Zoom call. It can be difficult at first if you choose to wake up early, but developing a schedule and getting into a daily rhythm at the start can help later on if you’re planning for the long term. And when waking up early, you should be careful not to get too little sleep, as that can lead to things like mood disruption, so make sure you’re getting a healthy amount of sleep!

With this in mind, sleeping in is so nice…it just might be worth it. Getting those extra few minutes of rest before a difficult school day seems to matter more than the hours that come before it. Other than that, getting up early does not have many advantages, but neither does sleeping in later. 

The choice is all yours — do you sleep in or wake up?

Sources:

Akpan, Nsikan. “The Science of Sleeping in, and Why you Probably Shouldn’t.” PBS July 3, 2015. PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/science-sleeping-in. Accessed February 13, 2021.