If there’s one thing high school students claim they are deprived of the most, it’s sleep. Everyone’s been there: pulling an all-nighter by downing 5 cans of redbull while desperately cramming for an exam, only to feel like a member of the undead the following day. Even getting up at 6 or 7 am everyday after some rest is a difficulty for many students–and in fact, there’s a reason why.

Sleep deprivation can have numerous negative effects on health–increasing chances of depression, obesity, Alzheimer, heart attacks, and even car crashes. But with school’s demanding deadlines and long hours, more and more students are taping their eyes open late into the night and slumping out of bed before sunrise. This mass zombie-fication all over the U.S. has caught the attention of scientists, who claim that schools start too early.

“I try my hardest to sleep earlier these days but I’m still so tired in school,” Junior Ceydan Kaya said.

Sleeping earlier is a seemingly simple solution, yet students remain hesitant. Researchers have found that as people reach puberty, their bodies release melatonin (the hormone that causes drowsiness) later than adults and children do. This makes it difficult for teens to sleep earlier than 11 pm. Teens also need more sleep than average–about 9 and a half hours total.

However, 43% of U.S. high schools start before 8 AM, and 20% even earlier. After adding extracurricular activities, homework, and a drive to school, students (and even teachers) are falling asleep in class.

“I’m aware that it’s a bad habit, but I’ve been staying up till 3 am since school started because of the workload,” Junior Kaya said.

In fact, more than 70% of PESH students in a poll reported that they averaged 6 or less hours of sleep on weekdays, and more than 80% got up at 7 am or before.

While these figures are daunting to many, schools are unwilling to change starting times because of higher transportation costs. Buses need to pick up students from different schools, which takes time and money for PISD transportation.

“The best recommendation I can give to sleepy students is to improve on their time management as much as possible,” IB teacher Mr. Sklar said. “Try to set a solid bedtime and stick to it. It’s better to take a test not completely prepared but with a fresh mind than taking a test while trying to stay awake.”