Kenner: Nine Hours of Sleep

As a child, I grew up believing that I would not be able to function the next day if I did not get at least nine hours of sleep. It started after I saw the Garfield commercial that told kids that people needed to sleep for nine hours every night. I took the narrator’s words to heart and woke up every morning counting all the hours I have been sleep. My auntie also was involved in this. She would tell me every night to be in bed by 8:30 which later progressed to 9:30 as I kept getting older. I knew she would be mad at me if I stayed up any later so I always made sure I was in bed on time.

Once I got into high school, I could not always go to sleep at 9:30. Being in high school meant that I had more homework to do and now I had to actually studying for a test. My auntie would still tell me that I should go to sleep early, but she did not bother me after realizing all the work I had to do for school. Being in high school also meant hanging out with my friends outside of school. I wanted to go to the movies, go to parties, or go shopping with my friends but I could not do that by 9 ‘clock. My auntie allowed me to go out, but I still felt weird being out past 10 ‘clock.

Now I am in college and there is no way for me to sleep nine straight hours every night. I find myself up all night studying for test. I have many homework assignments that take me over a couple of hours just to complete. There are even students that have to work two jobs in addition to the studying and homework. Scientists say people need at least nine hours of sleep every night, but that is almost impossible as you get older.