How Much Sleep Do Lafayette Students Get?

Julia Brown and Brinley Hogue • March 17, 2025

Sophomore Lafayette High School Student, Holly Schoeder, falls asleep during SAT prep from lack of sleep outside of school hours at 10:28 A.M. on March 4th.

Many students complain they are tired while at school, but what is the source of this sleep inconsistency? The Lafayette Times interviewed students to pinpoint why students struggle with getting enough sleep. The main reasons include getting only a few hours due to after-school activities, coming home late, or having to do homework. One freshman student, Nicholas Wilson, told The Times, “I got five hours of sleep. I had dance, I had rehearsal, and then [from absences] I had missing work to do.” Busy after school life is one thing students said really got in the way of going to sleep: their homework.

Another sophomore student, EJ Beatty, said, “My work took four to five hours ‘cause AP Seminar (homework) takes a while.” A freshman, Amelia Story said, “I got five hours of sleep. I think homework was the thing that kept me up.” The Times talked to 20 students in total, ten of whom said they had only gotten around five hours of sleep because of their homework load. Some even expressed the stress that went along with homework. Ella Littrell, a junior, said, “The reason why I get so little sleep is because of stress of assignments and stress of other things but definitely school stuff.”

Another reason why students are struggling to get a healthy amount of sleep is because they struggle to put their phones down. However, the Lafayette Times found that out of 20 interviewed people, ten said they got less sleep due to homework and only three said that they got less sleep because of phones. One sophomore student, Jordan Parker, said, “I got eight hours (of sleep). I use my phone a lot but I’m trying to cut down my time.” Another freshman student, Taylor Hayden, said, “I got two hours (of sleep) cause I was watching ‘Walking Dead’ on Netflix.” Some students find it hard to sleep with the distraction of phones and technology, but based on the people interviewed, the bigger problem seems to be excessive homework that keeps them up at night.

One source, sleephealthjournal.org, confirms that workload is often an issue. “School workloads often intensify across adolescence and compete for students’ time. Consequently, many adolescents do not have enough time for sleep. Even though schoolwork positively affects students’ learning, too much can take away from what students need: sleep. Having less sleep can affect achievement at school.

According to Sleep Health Journal, “Teen sleep deprivation has implications in the classroom, too, dragging down test scores, attendance, and even graduation rates. Sleep-deprived teens have a harder time learning new information.” Overall, giving out hours of homework, like our students have expressed they have, will do more harm than good. It disturbs the sleep schedule of students, making it harder for them to learn and pay attention in class.

If teachers are looking for the best results for their students, they should consider giving out smaller amounts of homework or even better, allowing students more time to finish the work in class so they can get some sleep and be more alert in the next class.

About the Contributors

Julia Brown, Staff Writer

Julia Brown is a freshman and has always enjoyed journalism/writing classes. In her free time, she loves training for competition season for gymnastics, as well as watching gymnasts on TV. She is also a voice major at SCAPA Lafayette. She enjoys working with kids on Sundays at Southland Christian Church, and teaching them about their growing faith. She is very excited to be a part of the Lafayette Times this year!

Brinley Hogue, Staff Writer

Brinley Hogue is a freshman who found an interest in writing from a young age. She loves to sing, and has been a SCAPA vocal major since 4th grade, and dances competitively at Dance Attack Dance Company. When she’s not at school or dancing, she loves to write poems and stories.

Ainsley Metze, Staff Writer

Ainsley is a sophomore at Lafayette High School. This is her first year writing for the Lafayette Times, and she is excited to be a part of the Lafayette Times staff this year. She is on the Dance Blue Committee of Lafayette’s Student Council. In her free time, Ainsley enjoys activities such as surfing and swimming. She hopes to be a Pediatric Occupational Therapist when she’s older.