As high school students we all know what it’s like to slam the snooze button on the alarm clock, maybe even having our parents literally drag us out of bed. Even though Edina High School has pushed back start times to later than other schools, I still feel like late nights of studying, sports, and other activates take their toll. According to Maria Konnikova of the New York Times, “Many of us have been experiencing the repercussions of inadequate sleep since childhood. Judith Owens, the director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Boston Children’s Hospital, has been studying the effects of school start times on the well-being of school-age kids—and her conclusions are not encouraging. Most adults are fine with about eight hours of sleep, but toddlers need around thirteen hours, including a daytime nap. Teens need around nine and a half hours; what’s more, they tend to be night owls, whose ideal circadian rhythm has them going to bed and waking up late. As schools have pushed their start times earlier and earlier—a trend that first started in the sixties, Owens says—the health effects on students have been severe. “It’s not just sleep loss. It’s circadian disruption,” Owens says. ‘They have to wake up when their brain tells them to be deeply asleep. Waking a teen at six in the morning is like waking an adult at three at night.’”

With that in mind, the Student Health Commission has made a list of ways to fall asleep:

1. Try to dim lights before sleeping. This means staying off your phone and devices. Reading a book is a good alternative.
2. Keep your room as quiet and dark as possible.
3. If you are stressed before sleeping, try doing yoga or meditating before bed to calm your nerves.
4. Take a hot shower or bath before sleeping and keep your room relatively cool during sleep.
5. When you wake up turn on lights and open curtains, so your mind can associate the light with morning.
6. If all else fails, according to WebMD, “Many people find that chamomile and Valerian herbal teas help them feel sleepy.”