When I was in kindergarten, I resented naps.

Because I was an energetic child, any amount of time where I had to be still was complete torture. Whenever my teacher said it was time for a nap, I would always count the minutes until I could go outside again.

As a current high school student who only gets five hours of sleep every night, I now realize how lucky I was. I would give anything to be able to take a nap in school again, even if it was only for an hour a day. Extra sleep is helpful to people of all ages, which is why I believe that high schools should consider dedicating one hour of nap time every day.

I don’t know when it was decided that nap time is only appropriate for elementary school children, but I do know that that is completely false. If anything, nap time is more essential for high school students.

I understand that kids need sleep in order to function and be pleasant, but what about us? Elementary school kids don’t have to deal with AP classes, extra-curricular activities, and homework; all they have to worry about is how many presents they will get on Christmas and their high score on Angry Birds.

High school students spend seven hours at school five days a week; and on a daily basis four hours doing homework, one hour eating, and three hours watching television or doing something else completely unproductive. Therefore, there is barely any time to get a sufficient amount of sleep and high school students need sleep. Otherwise, teenage high school students will become just like those unpleasant elementary school children.

Taking an hour out of every school day to have naps would immediately solve that problem. With more sleep, students will be able to focus more, which will make the learning environment more productive. Napping is just as, if not more, important than core classes. Although core classes provide students with knowledge that is needed to succeed, they cannot get very far without enough sleep, and that’s just the way it is.