School Start Times and Why They Aren’t Natural
Professionals say that adolescents should sleep 8.5 to 9.25 hours, but what would someone call teens staying up until their bodies say to go to sleep (which is natural), and then wake up a short 6 hours later to get ready for school? For the students that attend the 42.5% of schools that start before eight in the morning, and another 43% that start before 8:30, students call it their daily routine (Schools and Staffing Survey). The issue of whether or not schools start too early has been a serious debate for several years, and doesn’t seem like it is going to be resolved very easily. However, if schools were to start later in the day, students would learn better, retain more information,
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High depression rates are also more prevalent in schools starting earlier, which can, sadly, be carried on later in life. All of this attributes to students wanting to go to school! If students enjoy going to school, then they’ll want to do better and want to join more clubs which is typically good for any student, some experts even saying that it's better than classes in regards to responsibility. “Reductions in school dropout rates, less student depression, and higher student grades as well as a number of other extremely positive outcomes” are also result of just an hour more of sleep according to Snooze... or Lose!: 10 "No-War" Ways to Improve Your Teen's Sleep Habits (Emsellem)
It is true that there are some downsides to changing school start times to begin later, however those are not as prevalent or as solid as arguments for early start times. There have been many solutions that meet common grounds applied and presented to school boards. One is that a modified block schedule be used where students would have half on there classes on one day and the rest on the next with longer classes times. Another solution is to actually have shorter classes, or to just end later in the day, which may pose problems to
Waking up early at 6:00 A.M in the morning isn’t the funniest thing to do. The times on when school starts should be changed to a later time. Schools should change start times to later there is even factual evidence that this is true. In the article ‘The Teen Who Woke Up Her School’ by Jane Bianchi wrote about a teen named Jilly Dos Santos who put hard work into petitions and powerpoints to show how more sleep can better not only her but other people on school work and sports. People need more sleep to function and get through the day and to be more alert about things around them.Evidence from scientist and from teens show that people work better when they have more energy and got a good night's rest and when students don’t they sometimes start
In this article Amanda MacMillan says that "Middle and high school should start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., says the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)." MacMillan explains that the AASM recommends that teenagers should sleep 8 to 10 hours a night. But according to the CDC, "almost 70% of high-school students report sleeping 7 hours or less on a regular basis." MacMillan names a few of the serious consequences that can teens can have if they don't get the recommended amount of sleep like depressive symptoms, obesity, risk taking behaviors and athletic injuries. She says that as children go through puberty, their brains start producing melatonin on a delayed schedule, making it hard of them to feel tired before 11 p.m. MacMillan states
Despite popular opinion, to be beneficial, schools should continue on their current schedules, and not start later. Starting schools later can have a variety of positive and negative consequences on students. Schools currently are at a time that gives students enough lesson time to learn subjects, but still have time to relax and take part in other activities after school. Also many families depend on the time school starts to have easy transportation to school and work. Starting schools later will take away students time to do activities of their choice such as spend time with their families, socialize with others, and participate in extracurricular activities.
One drawback to later start times is the fact that school would end later. Since schools that start later still have the same number of hours in a day, they would in turn end later in the afternoon. This can cause problems for after school activities, and also homework after school. Some students families depend on the money earned from working after school jobs. If the school they were attending got out later, they would have less time after school to work these jobs, so they would be unable to make the money they need to support their families (“Eight Major Obstacles to Delaying School Start Times”). In addition, any after school clubs or activities would end later after school, causing those involved to stay up later at
Some people may believe that starting school later wouldn't help kids and would waste money, by really they are wrong because it can give students much needed sleep. When the pros and cons are weighed, It's obvious that schools start time should be later because teens need sleep and it improves grades and test scores. So get out there and let kids sleep
Ring! Ring! Goes my alarm clock I wake up at 5:00 in the morning for the first day of school. And I think about how school should start much later so teens can get more sleep. In the article should school start later by Lisa M. Harrington and the video "Should Students Start School Later in the Morning? as well as a info graphic by Sarah McKinney titled wake up call all support that schools should let their students get more sleep. Schools should let their students get more sleep so They will be ready to learn and enjoy their breakfast so they can have energy to learn when they enter their school and not be waking up at 5:00 in the morning and start being relaxed and waking up at 7:00 So they can get more time to relax and do what
Early school start times affect the mental and physical health of students. If schools start later, students would be more ready to learn. With the early start times, students are not getting enough sleep and that is affecting their performance in earlier classes. They come to these classes like zombies and do not really take in what they are hearing.
Teens are recommended to get 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night to be able to function to the best of their ability. A study found that only 15% of teens receive 8.5 hours on school night. According to the CDC, “Five out of six middle and high schools in the United States start the school day too early.” Most high schools start before 8:30 A.M. High schools starting too early in the morning can cause high school students to not get their necessary amount of sleep. Lack of sleep can cause harmful health effects. Not getting enough sleep can cause behavior effects such as aggressiveness and impulsivity. Not getting enough sleep can also cause you to overeat, which can lead to unhealthy weight gain. Changing the start time of high schools can assure high school students with their appropriate amount of
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.
First of all, some teens simply don’t get enough sleep. People argue they should just go to sleep earlier, but it’s not that easy. Teens and children have a tendency to go to sleep late and wake up late. They have a life to live outside of school should open at at least ten o’clock.
“BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!” The teenage student slams on the snooze button and struggles to get out of bed for the early school day. Teens on average need 9 ¼ hours of sleep (Backgrounder: Later School Start Times). Teens currently average fewer than 7 hours of sleep (Backgrounder: Later School Start Times). Hectic schedules, poor sleep habits, homework, and family obligations are the problem (Backgrounder: Later School Start Times). Schools are considering starting their school days later in the morning. For example, one Minneapolis school considered pushing back their start time from 7:15 to 8:30. Another Seattle school considers pushing back the school day start reported Jean Enersen. Would this benefit the students or harm the students? Is this for the better or for the worse? These are questions many superintendents and school board members are asking themselves. They all want to do what is best for their students, so the topic takes a lot of thinking, planning, and conversations. School starting later can be a very controversial issue.
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” (...
There is multiple facts and reasons to have later start times help students get through the school day. BY helping students get better grades, test scores, and overall better. And teens these days aren't getting the sleep they need to wake up early and go to school. SO that is why school should have later start times. IF schools started later we wouldn't have all these tired and groggy students coming to school we would have students that are refreshed and ready to learn. We will have students that have good grades. We will have students who have better test scores. And we will have students with overall better performance.I what you right now pick up your phone and call your district and say we want later start
When children make the transition from primary school to middle school or high school, it affects them a lot when the changing of their own sleep cycle affects the way they actually learn. Dr. Judith Owens, who is the director of the Sleep Medicine Clinic at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., says "adolescents are programmed to fall asleep later,” (2013). She wants to change school start times to later because "we are asking [teens] to be awake and alert at the time in their 24-hour clock when their alertness level is at its very lowest,” (2013). She also says that most teens can’t usually fall asleep until 11 p.m. Sleep expert Amy Wolfson of College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., says that children should try to get eight and a half to nine and a half hours of sleep a night. Waking up at six a.m. leads to bad sleep patterns creating sleep deprivation.
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.