Throughout the arduous years of high school, maintaining one’s physical and mental health are important. This includes maintaining proper nutrition, getting enough sleep, and balancing both with academics and extracurriculars. Most students at Uni High do not believe that their physical health is what it should be, and almost everyone believes it can be improved. On a scale from 1-10, 1 being unhealthy, 40% of 114 responses said that their physical health was below a 5. This can be concerning as a teacher, a parent, and especially as a student who goes to school every day.

One area that students feel their physical health can be improved is the amount of sleep that they are getting every night. Of course, the school cannot act on this issue.

“This is something that the school can’t do much about, and the students themselves must act toward” said sophomore Zachary Donnini.

It is vital for getting enough sleep on a daily basis is time management. As a high school student, balancing your homework and extracurriculars with sleep can be difficult. Most students at Uni believe that in the instances where they get enough sleep, they are far more academically engaged.

“When I get at least 7 hours of sleep, I find myself paying attention more often in class” said sophomore Lucas Wood.

Wood has a similar opinion to a lot of the student body.

“The amount of sleep I get basically determines whether I have a good or bad day” sophomore Max Ludaescher agreed.

Another important aspect of maintaining one’s physical health is daily exercise. With most Uni students, school sports are the way this is achieved. But for those who don’t take part in Uni sports, PE is required every day.

Some student athletes at Uni feel that their physical health is exemplary. They believe that if they did not play their sport every day after school, they would be physically unfit.

“I haven’t heard great things about the PE program. If I wasn’t in swimming, I don’t think my fitness would be up to par,” said sophomore Reed Broaders.

Staying physically fit is vital to any high schooler being bombarded with stress. Balancing exercise with all of the extracurriculars and homework being piled up is difficult, but definitely possible. Students at Uni feel like their physical health is not where it should be, and that it can be changed with the right time management.