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The negative effects of extending school hours
The negative effects of extending school hours
Should school start later
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Were you aware that teens tend to have irregular sleeping patterns that can harm their body and the way it functions? When it comes to sleep, teens are inclined to stay up very late during the week and wake up very early in the morning. On the weekends, they seem to gravitate more towards waking up very late to catch up on the sleep that they missed earlier in the week. Now that you know what the causes of having irregular sleeping patterns can do to a teenager’s body, you will be able to see the positive and negative effects of what not having enough sleep can do to one’s self. These facts will be explored through the articles “Should Schools Start Later” by Justin O’Neill and “Why Schools Should Start Later in the Morning” by Emily Richmond. …show more content…
Some people say that school times should not start later in the morning because there would be less time to complete other activities that they enjoy doing. One source says, “Starting school later means dismissing school later, which leaves fewer daylight hours for after-school activities” (O’Neill 21). This indicates that some believe that starting school later would be an unbeneficial sacrifice to take, just because they do not want to miss out on their favored extra-curricular activities. Another incorrect reason why people are convinced that schools should not begin later is because school districts would have to pay for more bus drivers, and they do not want to have to pay for these unnecessary expenses. O’Neill writes, “Later start times would mean some districts’ might have to invest in additional buses and drivers, which can be expensive” (O’Neill 21). This demonstrates that many school districts would rather keep the same start times for school than have to pay more for bus drivers. One final reason why people falsely believe that schools should not start later in the morning is because it helps teens learn life skills that they can put into use later in their existence. An excerpt from an article reads, “Being on time, managing a busy schedule, and getting enough sleep are important skills teens will need when they enter the workforce” (O’Neill 21). This quote reassures the fact that some people believe that learning important life skills is more relevant than getting enough sleep, even though a lack of sleep can cause teens to get unnecessary illnesses. Despite the fact that some people say that keeping school start times early in the morning is more advantageous than pushing the start times later, they are erroneous for numerous
All children need sleep and want sleep during the weekdays and that is very difficult. It has been noticed that older students and younger students, such as third graders and eleventh graders, sleep patterns are very different. In many places it is the same way that middle schools and high school start earlier than elementary schools. The problem is that adolescents stay up at least two and a half hours later than younger children do (Bergin 2).
Sleep deprivation is very common in adolescents and can contribute to many different problems that can be avoided with simple changes in daily sleep routines. According to the article, “young and sleep deprived” by Karen Weintraub many psychologists want to persuade middle schools and high schools to push back start times to increase safety and performance in their students’ everyday lives. They claim that the reason why teenagers are drowsy and experience impaired attention span in class is because of sleep deprivation. Psychologists claim this because students around the United States are waking up before their circadian rhythms or internal clocks tell them to awake. Therefore, if students awake before their circadian
Kids and teen everywhere are rushed, stressed, and not doing as well in school because they aren't getting the right amount of sleep. About 40% of american high schools start classes before 8:00 am and more than 20% of middle schools start at 7:45 am or earlier. School start times should be later because teens need sleep and it improves their overall academic grades.
Among adolescents and teenagers lack of sleep has become an epidemic. Teenagers believe that sleep is expendable when, in reality, it is extremely important for teens to receive sufficient sleep. Alexandra Robbins argues in her book, The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids, that teenagers are willing to sacrifice sleep for success and that this way of thinking is harmful to adolescent development. It is because of this way of thinking and the negative effect it has, that the start time of high schools should be pushed back. Through evidence provided by Robbins and an outside source, it can be asserted that the start time of high schools should be pushed back.
Studies conducted over a nearly 30 year span have consistently shown only a small fraction of adolescents get the 9 or more hours of sleep they require to function at their best. While teenagers are notorious for causing their own sleep difficulties, sleep loss among adolescents is confined primarily to school nights. “Sleep deprivation is epidemic among adolescents, with potentially serious impacts on mental and physical health, safety, and learning. Most teenagers undergo a biological shift to a later sleep-wake cycle, which can make early school start times particularly challenging.” says
It’s seven thirty in the morning, the time that most American high schools begin class. Instead of being chipper and ready to learn, most teenagers, at this time of the morning, can barely remain awake. These puffy eyed pupils are by no means ready to learn. Sixty percent children under 18 reported being sleepy during the day, with another fifteen percent reporting that they had fallen asleep during the school day within the past year (National Sleep Foundation, Dozing). Though adolescents require a larger amount of sleep than younger children, they usually receive much less (Indiana University Center for Adolescent Studies). The amount of sleep a teenager receives affects him or her both physically and mentally. Sleep deprived teenagers are more likely to be irritable, be depressed, not perform up to their capabilities in school, and have a decreased ability to handle complex tasks (National Parent Information Network). Though teenage sleep deprivation is a big problem, some simple solutions such as rescheduling the school day to fit teenagers’ biological needs, setting consistent sleep schedules, and teaching children the importance of proper sleep habits can easily remedy this problem.
(Teens4) Work schedules for teens are also a contributing factor. Teens who work more than fifteen hours a week after school and on the weekends have less time for sleep. Teens typically stay up late and sleep in late on weekends which can affect the quality of their sleep. “If parents and teens know what good sleep entails and the benefits of making and sticking to a plan that supports good sleep, then they might re-examine what they think ‘essential activities’ truly are” (Teens5). Sleep deprivation can affect the way the brain functions during the day when teenagers are need of it the
According to the National Sleep Foundation, biological sleep patterns change throughout the stages of adolescence. ¨Biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence-meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00pm.¨ (¨Teens and Sleep¨). Messing with these sleep cycles in the long run and lead to sleep disorders. Research done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests teenagers 13-18 years old should regularly sleep 8-10 hours each night for a healthy sleep. The teens who do not get a good amount of sleep are more likely to suffer from mental conditions, smoking, illicit drugs, and alcohol use. ¨Not getting enough sleep is common among high school students and is associated with several health risks including being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and using drugs, as well as poor academic performance.¨ (¨Schools Start Too Early¨). On an NBC news story, Hilton Head Island High School moved its start time and benefits were noticeable. Students had higher test score averages and grades improved throughout the school.A study done in 2008 published in the journal of clinical sleep, found car accident rates fell by 16.5% when students were more aware on the road, not having to wake up before 7 am.
If the school start time was delayed, we would see less of this happening in schools all over. All adolescents who don’t have enough sleep have a delayed response time. These teens cause a greater risk with driving accidents in the morning, but if the school time was delayed the percentage of driving accidents from teens would lower. People are starting to see that if the school start times would be delayed that there would be more healthy, energized teens and less risks of car accidents in the morning happening.
One reason why high school should start later than elementary schools is that with such early start times, the average high school students do not get enough sleep and are considered sleep deprived. According to a survey completed by The National Sleep Foundation, only 20% of high school students sleep the optimal 9 hours on school nights and 60% of children under the age of 18 have complained that they are tired throughout the school day to their parents (“School Start”). Sleep depravity is very common among high school students. With disadvantaged sleep patterns, adolescents have decreased mental sharpness and ability to pay attention during school hours. Therefore, grades and test scores are lower than their potential. In fact, “a recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation showed that only 20 percent of teenagers report getting the optimal 9 hours of sleep o...
Sleep is an important human function, and without it your body is unable to do the human tasks it is normally able to do. Not sleeping can cause harmful results. Many schools have researched and examined information on what would be the best start time for students to perform at their best. Most students do not get the recommended 8 to 10 hours of sleep needed in order to function properly. Most teens do not get enough sleep — one study found that only 15% reported sleeping 8 1/2 hours on school nights,” (Teens and Sleep). Limiting the amount of time you sleep affects your personality as well as ability to function. Therefore, many districts have reviewed their start times to start later, in order to see more refined results.
Lack of sleep of teens is not caused by choice. Many teens do not choose to stay up late at night because they are out or having fun. The body has circadian rhythms. “These rhythms are generated internally and develop without any social or environmental cues. Adolescents experience a natural circadian phase delay and, therefore, tend to stay up later and sleep in later than in preadolescents” (Final Report Summary, 2001). The opening and closing schedules of schools are not based on these rhythms but are based on the business world and what is best for it. “School schedules should be adapted to the unique needs of different sub-populations of pupils. The administrator must not bear the sole responsibility for planning class schedules” (...
For children in modern society, sleep seems to be an afterthought, where school and extra-curricular activities “should” take precedent over physical health. The delayed starting time theory involves pushing the starting time back 25 to 60 minutes, which would increase the total sleep-time for most adolescents anywhere from 25 to 77 minutes of sleep per weeknight. Syncing the sleep schedule with the physiological circadian rhythm is a pivotal part of normal growth and development in childhood and adolescence, especially regarding the brain. Mental ability, alertness, learning capacity, and overall daytime functioning may benefit from improved sleep, as disrupted sleep-wake cycles and restricted sleep also have consequences on the kidneys and the cardiovascular, digestive, thermoregulatory, and endocrine systems (Minges, Redeker,
The amount of hours of sleep the average teenager needs is 9 hours; For those of us that have to wake up at 6 am to get to school on time, that means going to bed by at least 9 pm. By the time you get home from school and eat, shower, and start homework, you'd barely have time to breathe before you'd have to go straight to bed to wake up and be ready and awake for school. So we all know that sleep is an essential part of our day to day lives, it’s what gives us the energy to stay awake. What many people don’t realize is that sleep deprivation, or a deficiency of sleep, does more harm to us than just leaving us tired for a day or two.
The alarm goes off at six am and the typical high school student is barely able to open their eyes. It is time to get up and prepare for a full day at school, about eight hours. Most teenagers, according to the National Sleep Foundation, will only get about six hours of sleep since they tend to stay up until midnight (“Should schools start later in the day?”). After getting ready, many students look forward to a nap in their first hour class despite the information they will miss. Teenagers seem to always have had trouble getting up in the morning, even earning the title of lazy from their parents. However, recent research on adolescent sleep patterns has produced a biological explanation for this tendency. This raises a serious question: why are high schools starting early in the morning when teenagers are biologically programmed to sleep in? For most cases, school start time has not been conformed to fit student physiological needs simply because of transportation issues.