Losing Sleep: How the Pandemic Has Impacted Students
Illustration by Jasmin Hernandez
By Jorge Martinez
Vanessa Hernandez wakes up before the sun rises. Hernandez, a high school freshman at J. Sterling High School, crams a backpack of textbooks and unfinished homework from the previous night before walking alongside her friends to class.
But today is different.
Vanessa Hernandez outside her home in Cicero, Ill. on March 14th, 2022 (Photo by April Alonso).
Hernandez couldn’t sleep the previous night. She hasn’t been able to get a full eight hours of sleep in months. She fights her drowsiness as she enters school and prepares for her first class.
She is not alone. For some students at Morton, the struggle to get a good night's rest may be leading to other mental health concerns. The challenges of remote learning and the risks associated with in-person classes after the holidays exacerbated the issue.
Lower motivation amongst students
The pandemic has contributed to increases in insomnia due to higher rates of anxiety and depression which can lead to other issues. If adolescents, for example, sleep below the recommended eight hours of sleep, they may experience a higher risk of, “attention, behavior, and learning problems.”
And some students in Cicero are suffering.
“Before the pandemic started, I was a straight-A student. Now, my grades are decreasing. I can’t focus without enough sleep and I find myself dozing off during the day,” Hernandez said. “I was just so tired.”
Jazmin Bernal is a senior at J. Sterling Morton East High School. She describes herself as generally happy and outgoing, but she said the lasting repercussions of the pandemic have proved to be a challenge.
Photo courtesy of Jazmin Bernal
“It’s not enough. I get so tired during my classes, I find myself falling asleep,” Bernal said. Like Hernandez, Bernal only gets five hours of sleep per day, and it has been hurting her.
“We all feel lower motivation. Before, I would have stayed on top of [college applications] but now I find I keep putting it off. I get tired faster and I can’t retain as much information as I used to,” she said.
Both Bernal and Hernandez said that many of their peers have experienced a similar dip in motivation and changes in sleeping patterns, particularly during remote learning. Trying to learn at home or in her bedroom — a staple of relaxation as Hernandez puts it — was simply not conducive to a healthy learning environment.
“[During remote learning] I slacked off more because I had more excuses to not do work, to not show up to the Zoom meetings. I had no motivation and let myself sleep in more and sleep a lot later,” Hernandez said. “When we returned to in-person learning, I found myself not being able to sleep at all.”
“It’s harder to do homework when you’re tired and anxious. I fall asleep in the middle of my homework,” Bernal said. During remote learning, Bernal felt really ‘down’ at times because of the social isolation’. She wasn’t able to spend time with friends, something that is necessary for many teenagers struggling with depression. Hernandez agreed.
“Being stressed in school is bad enough for some, and mixing that environment with [our homes which is] supposed to be comforting doesn’t mix well,” Hernandez said about remote learning.
Increased mental health awareness
In an effort to address the rising needs of students, Illinois will now allow students to take five mental health days from school.
“I’m glad that the importance of mental health is finally being acknowledged,” Bernal said. “Poor mental health can greatly impact [our] performance in school and being allowed to take a break once in a while would definitely help many of us refresh and reset.”
However, both Hernandez and Bernald agree that more needs to be done moving forward.
“We need to normalize mental health in Cicero. School should try to tell us that it’s okay to feel what we’re feeling and we don’t need to be afraid to ask for help,” Hernandez said. She says that Cicero schools should lead by example, demonstrating healthy habits, positive coping skills and combating stigma before it forms.
Bernal says that Cicero organizations, such as Corazón and the Mental Health Center, are ways that mental health is becoming a common discussion among Cicero residents, but that more needs to be done.
“Now, youth are more exposed to bigger risks and [mental health] is becoming an urgent issue,” Bernal said.
By expanding such programs or even integrating them with Cicero schools, their influence and reach could effectively multiply, Bernal said.
For now both Bernal and Hernandez have resumed in-person classes at Morton district 201. Bernal and Hernandez reflect the struggle many students are going through.
“Though returning to virtual learning might not be the best option in terms of learning for students, if it’s for a greater good of keeping students safe and healthy, I say I’m all for it. Returning will definitely be a short term bother for a long term good,” Bernal says. But for Hernandez going back to virtual wouldn’t be as easy.
“Virtual learning… it just gets mentally draining because your home is supposed to be a place of comfort. When I’m at home, school is honestly the last thing on my mind.” Hernadez said.
The pandemic has worsened disparities within education and Cicero students have not been immune. While many of these experiences are not limited to the town’s borders, Cicero students still have hope of returning to normalcy. Hernadez says she is focusing on adjusting her schedule to meet her personal needs while Bernal is excited to finish her college applications. The pandemic has challenged them, but they both say they are optimistic about what the future has in store.
Jorge Martinez is a Cicero Independiente Fall reporting fellow and is currently a student at Bennett Day School. Jorge is a community activist for queer and youth voices.
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