Monday was the first day of school for all local students. The summertime fun is now over, and the work has begun. Well, at least the work of having to get up early has started. For many students just making it to school on time is the most work they encounter for the day.

Not to say many of them won’t have to work in class, but for most students the hardest part of the day is actually waking up to start the day. For the past three months, a large amount of our students have had the opportunity to sleep in and stay out late. This in return has created a hardship for students.

It has been scientifically proven that the human body does not acclimate to being awake at night and sleeping during the day, which is one of the main causes of school and work tardiness and low or angered personal stamina.

Students or even adults who work very late hours, whether on a job, practicing for sports or even doing homework/paperwork, can create a problem with how a person functions throughout the day.

This where it comes in handy to prioritize your schedule to make sure you have enough time to get everything done while allotting time for relaxation and sleep. This can be hard – believe me I know. When you have to be at work early and you don’t get home until at least 7 or later, it can be difficult to come home, get dinner done, get laundry done and make sure that all of your work for the next day is ready. That is not counting the time it takes to help your kids with their homework or to make sure that your kids are ready for bed and actually going to sleep before you settle in for the night.

There are many things that keep us from getting the amount of sleep we need, and it is important to try to set goals for yourself and your family to make sure that everyone stays healthy this year. With the school year just now starting, it is a great time to set out priorities and even calendar charts that the whole family can see to help organize the time you will be spending awake during each day. It’s easy to say I can fit that in until you get your schedule too full, and you don’t have the energy to make it through the day let alone a full week of school or work.

Sleep is good. Even if you feel like you can go without it sometimes.

Note: Ashley McCartney is a news writer for The Clanton Advertiser. Her column appears each Thursday.