Choosing classes can be a stressful part of the school year for many students. Trying to fit the required courses, credits, teachers, and times all into one satisfying schedule is a feat.

As students, we often have to make the decision to sacrifice on one of the many criteria for a good class. To get the correct credits, and not even a good teacher, I had to take an 8 a.m. statistics class every Monday and Wednesday last semester.

Math has never been my strong suit, so naturally, I ended up passing the class with the lowest grade I’ve ever received in college.

The way we perform as students relies on more factors than we even consider for class selection. Sleep is one of the essential contributors to academic performance, and 8 a.m. classes hammer that point home.

Research from the National Library of Medicine found, in an analysis of 33,818 students, those with more early morning classes had lower grade point averages.

Some students in my class seemed totally fine every week, but most didn’t even make it to class. We all did have a reason for being there though.

For student athletes in particular, 8 a.m. classes are more often than not the only classes available when factoring in their pesky practice times. The classes have to be taken, so they have to make that choice.

Unfortunately, when athletes, and any student, enrolling in those early classes they jinx themselves.

For young adults ages 18 to 25, the recommended hours of sleep per night ranges between seven and nine hours. However, over half of college students sleep less than seven hours per night according to a Harvard Summer School report.

Students often go from work to school to games, constantly keeping up with the demands of higher education. Here at Palomar many students have families, work full-time, and even attend other schools.

To balance it all is entirely too much, and the easy way out for most is to set their alarms, wake up to down caffeine, and go to the 8 a.m. class. Though, that choice leads to so many unwanted consequences.

The option for 8 a.m. classes should not be one. Ultimately, 8 a.m. classes are an easy scheduling solution for school administrators — a shortcut that overlooks the toll on students’ mental and physical well-being. Administrators often brush off the challenge of balancing sports schedules, events, and diverse class options as too complicated to tackle, leaving it to students to figure out.

College students and teachers are allowed and encouraged to create schedules that put their physical and mental states under extreme stress. It starts much earlier in high school, but colleges have historically influenced the expectations of students in high schools. Their actions can incite reform.

“It’s a vicious circle where the more stressed you get, the less you sleep, and the less you sleep, the more stressed you get. And in the long term, that can lead to serious psychiatric problems,” says Pace-Schott for Harvard Summer School.

It’s time for colleges to stop enabling this cycle of stress and exhaustion and start designing schedules that prioritize student success.