As a little girl, I plainly refused to sleep. The way I saw it, pointless naps and early bedtimes took time away from what I really wanted to do: play, read, and embrace the overall chaos of youth. Fast forward twelve years or so, and I find myself desperately wishing for some sort of rollover program for the sleep I once took for granted. The numerous responsibilities I encounter on a daily basis have transformed sleep from a priority into a hobby that I enjoy if and when I find time. The pressure placed on today’s teenagers and their schedules is utterly daunting, and many students now lack the energy to properly manage it all. Recently, however, more and more adults are blaming advancements in technology and social media for my generation’s zombie-like tendencies. This results in devices wrongfully confiscated, privileges unjustly revoked and the problem of teen sleep deprivation left undiagnosed and unsolved.

The Nationwide Children’s Hospital cites that teenagers need over 9 hours of sleep per night to remain healthy. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), however, about 70 percent of high school students are getting less than 8 hours of sleep per night. Overall, teens seem to favor losing to snoozing, and many parents may gladly hold their child’s “fancy” cell phone, tablet or computer responsible; after all, their generation did not have any of those gadgets when they were growing up, and they turned out just fine. As a high school senior who has spent the majority of my life reasonably separated from the latest technological trends and innovations and yet still cannot manage to get more than 5 hours of sleep a night, I believe they are wrong. What, then, is keeping teenagers awake, you might ask?

As cliché an answer as it may seem, everything. Grades, homework, careers, relationships, familial requirements, chores, social lives, college preparation, extracurricular activities – high school students are expected to function in a hailstorm of responsibilities, expectations, assignments and blatant turmoil. Frankly, it’s exhausting and highly impractical. Allow me to break down the average high school student’s daily schedule.

Most high schools open their doors around the retina-searing time of 7 am every day; therefore, any student with the slightest chance of arriving on time must wake up no later than 6:30 am to eat, dress, prepare for the day and commute to school. 7 hours of schooling later, consisting of 5 classes, lunch, and any amount of teen stress and drama, that student is free to go home and do as he or she pleases, right? Nope. Research collected by The ACT in 2012 showed that about half of all high school students participate in some sort of extracurricular activity, including various school-sponsored academic and athletic organizations. In addition, data released by the U.S. Census Bureau concluded that about 1 in 4 high school students maintain some sort of job, with shifts lasting as long as 5 hours per weekday. Once a student does get home, he or she is faced with the 3.5 hours of daily homework that, according to a survey by the University of Phoenix, is assigned on average each school day. By running the numbers, we can expect any number of random high school students with one moderate extra-curricular activity, a hitch-free round of homework, a negligible and traffic-free commute and the day off from work – lucky break, that – to attend to all of their responsibilities by about 10 pm. If they go to bed immediately, they might just get close to that 9+ hour sleep requirement, assuming they don’t eat, bathe, socialize or do anything else at all and manage to fall asleep the second they lay down. More often than not, I would say that things are not going to work out that way; certain tasks must be completed before bedtime so that one doesn’t destroy their mental and physical health.

Behold, the teenage time crisis. In my experience, the only effects that technology has on the life of the dedicated and frazzled student are positive. If someone would care to point out where distracting music, cryptic social media status updates or too many selfies fits into the packed schedule above, please feel free. Meanwhile, I’ll be busy doing homework, writing college essays and the like and – oh look, there’s the sunrise. Whoops. I suppose I’ll try again tomorrow.