Wake up at 4:30 a.m. Go to practice from 6:00 to 7:30 a.m. Go to classes at 8:00 a.m. Leave school at 3:30 p.m. This is a common schedule for many student-athletes who have morning practices. While some appreciate more free time in the afternoon, others point to the sleep deprivation it can cause.

Pros

Waking up every day before 5 am is definitely challenging, and while many students would rather skip practice and sleep in, waking up very early builds discipline. According to Swimming World, a news outlet, “To succeed in life, you have to be willing to push yourself and do things that you sometimes don’t want to do.” Waking up at 4:30 am is an obstacle many athletes have to overcome. This type of discipline is particularly beneficial for preparing students for college, where routine is essential to success. In addition to the routine, the morning also provides cooler weather.

 “In (cross country), we race in the morning, so we’re training at the same time that we try to compete,” varsity cross country coach Amanda Dean said. “It’s also significantly cooler in the morning, so we can expect our athletes to be able to work harder.” 

Across all sports, heat is a significant factor in deciding when to hold practices. According to the CDC, athletes who exercise in the heat are more likely to become dehydrated and get heat-related illness, which is why it is better to schedule practices earlier or later in the day when the temperature is cooler. Many sports that have afternoon practices have to cancel them due to the heat index, which states that if temperatures are at least 92° F, they must be canceled. In previous years, football practice has occasionally been canceled when the weather is deemed too dangerous to play in.

“During (the beginning of the) season, the heat that comes in the afternoon makes a huge difference in what athletes are capable of doing, because when it’s 90+° outside, they just can’t shed body heat,” Dean said. “When you’re trying to (perform) at maximal standards, it’s just much more productive to run in the morning.”

Aside from temperature, morning practices also set up the rest of the day for students. According to Hinge Health, an online platform for physical therapy, exercising in the morning boosts energy levels due to an increase in oxygen, nutrients and dopamine. Exercise also improves productivity by increasing brain chemicals like norepinephrine and acetylcholine, which are associated with improved cognitive performance.

Cons

Without a healthy sleeping schedule, sometimes waking up early every day for practice and going to bed late to do homework for many days on end leads to exhaustion and an inability to pay attention in class. According to the CDC, 80% of high school students in Florida do not get enough sleep. Not only do most high schoolers go to bed late, but they are now being forced to wake up even earlier to attend morning practices. Canadian swim coach and author of “Teens, Sleep Deprivation and Morning Practices,” Rick Madge, discussed the disadvantages of morning practices on swimmers.

“We are doing our swimmers a grave disservice by having too many morning practices and by having those practices start too early,” Madge said. “The impact of our enforced sleep deprivation may be extending into their school performance and their general health.”

From vigorous practice schedules to balancing academics, while also getting less than eight hours of sleep, it can be challenging for some to balance their time effectively.

“That’s probably the biggest drawback, that we’re trying to get (all our workouts) in in a smaller amount of time and dealing with, potentially, fatigue if kids aren’t managing their sleep well,” Dean said.

Varsity cheerleader Moraia Clemente, who has morning practice once a week and afternoon practice twice a week, also believes that afternoon practices are better than morning practices.

“(During afternoon practices), I get more time to practice and they’re usually more relaxed, because I’m not rushing to get things done,” Clemente said.

Although there are various pros and cons of morning practices, each sport has its own unique preferences about when to hold practice.

“The general feedback is once you get your sleep schedule adjusted, which usually occurs in that first week or two of practice, the benefits far outweigh the cons,” Dean said