High school students cannot nap properly. They go home and close their eyes, but they do not nap. Koehn Humphries is a perfect example of this. He rushes out of school just to close his eyes for five minutes then goes to work. When we were younger we were given a nap time in Kindergarten, but then it stopped after that. Everyday high schoolers are forced to wake up at the crack of dawn, and some have to stay for clubs until sunset. This leads to exhaustion. One skill high schools should teach all students is napping because it is better for their health and it teaches time management.
For starters, napping is one of the best ways to cure the plague of sleepiness. You lay down, close your eyes, and then magically you feel refreshed. It feels like magic! But sometimes people nap too long. It goes from this refreshing, light nap to a deep, heavy slumber, ruining the ability to sleep. There have been countless times where I have found myself closing my eyes after school — around three o’clock — and then waking up at six-thirty pm, all sweaty and confused, frantically checking the clock. That is not healthy. That is not refreshing. Along with that, many do not understand the value and importance of a solid power-nap, often discouraging others from rejuvenation as they have worked throughout the day. Resting your body allows for one to naturally replenish your energy — unlike artificial sugars or drugs, that keep you awake, but worsen your health. Thus, high schoolers should be taught the proper way to nap, not in a sweaty and confused way, but in a controlled, refreshing way.
Additionally, napping properly develops good time management skills. For example, if you were to take a 20-minute power-nap, then you would wake up feeling refreshed, but also you would be practicing measuring out how long you were resting, leading to a more productive day. Sleeping for twenty minutes versus three hours helps someone have more time in the day, but also helps them feel able to keep working. And with busy schedules, high schoolers need good time management. I often have hours upon hours of school work per-day, and because of that, I need to be able to efficiently manage my time with homework, my job, and school activities. So, learning to take twenty-minute naps would not only be beneficial to keeping me energized throughout the day, but it would also be another medium to practice time-management skills in a restful way, instead of the constant stress of my after-school life.
Ultimately, whether it be in a classroom-setting, or just a presentation educating students on the subject, one skill high schools should teach is how to properly nap. Students are super busy, so schools should take charge and help them take care of themselves. Through time management skills, and taking care of themselves, there are nothing but benefits with napping.
