Ever gone to school drowsy and/or tired before? So have many other students in the United States and in many other countries. Even though the lack of sleep could be possibly solved by better parental control, schools should start later in the morning because teens need, on average, about 9 hours of sleep, students’ academic performances would improve, and teen car crash rates would drop a significant rate due to better concentration. There are many other additional health benefits attached to arriving at school at a later time, including but not limited to: less depressive feelings, irritability, and sleep deprivation in general. Sleep deprivation can cause obesity, stroke, heart attack, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), mental impairment, and many other serious health problems. All of these health and physical problems can possibly be avoided if schools consider opening later in the morning.
When a child enters puberty, not only is their body physically changing, but also their biological makeup is changing as well. “Research shows that adolescents require at least as much sleep as they did as children, generally 8 1/2 to 9 1/4 hours each night” (Carskadon). Most teenagers do not receive the full 8 to 9 hours of sleep due to a common sleeping disorder. This disorder is called delayed sleep phase syndrome, or DSPS, which can be caused by the pressures of a school schedule conflicting with the changes in the body’s natural circadian rhythm which is commonly referred to as the body clock. This disorder is not only found in teenagers, but children as well, which can cause moderate to serious problems:
Children and adolescents with DSPS may experience depression and other psychiatric problems including behavioral problems as a resu...
... middle of paper ...
...pinion/14kalish.html?_r=0>.
Lee, Fred. "Teen Driving Safety and Early School Start Times." Parenting Squad. Killer Aces Media, 16 June 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
"More Schools Starting Later to Accommodate Sleepy Teens." More Schools Starting Later to Accommodate Sleepy Teens. findingDulcinea, 8 Feb. 2010. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. .
"Start School Later In The Morning, Say Sleepy Teens." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. .
Trudeau, Michelle. "High Schools Starting Later to Help Sleepy Teens." NPR. NPR, 18 Jan. 2007. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. .
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
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.
Smith, Kelly. "Research Links Later School Start Times to Benefit for Teens." 13 Mar. 2014:
Wahlstrom, Kyla. " Later High-School Start Times Still Working." Education Digest 68.6 (2003): 49. MasterFILE Premier. Web.
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
Researchers have proven that teenager’s brains don’t start working until ten in the morning, also that an average teenager is supposed to get eight to nine hours of sleep each night. These are a few reasons that school starting times are negatively affecting students learning abilities at school. I believe that schools should have later starting times. An average teenager is supposed to get eight to nine hours of sleep each night, however in reality most teens only get about seven hours. A lack of sleep is causing students to do worse on homework and tests. Our school starts at seven twenty-five, if it started two hours later, then students would be getting the exact amount of sleep that they need each night. A study shows that the brain doesn’t
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
In order to avoid sleep deprivation, maintaining a consistent sleep schedule is vital for teenagers. Compared to opposing age groups, teenagers are most easily affected by inconsistent sleep habits (National Sleep Foundation, Adapt). The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) reports that, “For the adolescent’s circadian clock to stay on track, it is essential that teens remain on schedule…(National Sleep Foundation, Adapt).” The NSF also recommends that teens only stay up one hour later on weekends than they would duri...
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
Many students, especially teenagers, have trouble waking up early for school in the morning. It is a wish for most children to start school later, giving them more time to complete work and get a full night's sleep. The average school time throughout the US is 8:00 am, which does not correlate with average bedtimes and hours of sleep needed. Although it may be inconvenient for some, delayed school start times allow sleep-deprived students to experience adequate sleep, improving their health and academic performance. Though late starts have several benefits, there are many valid reasons why it can be an issue for others.
Has it ever been hard to work late at night or to finish homework, an essay, or study for a test, and it’s exhausting the next day? Many states all over the U.S. are changing their school start times to a later time in the morning. Changing schools to a later time has been proven extremely beneficial, but there are also conflicts, such as work and parent’s schedules. Data has been proven by Children’s National “Rise and Shine” that high school should start later in the morning. It’s very hard for teenagers to go to school early in the morning.
In more than 40 states schools start before 8:30, so if a student does not go to bed very early they will very tired and have a hard time getting to school, kids need at least 8 and a half to 9 and half hours of sleep a night. The University of Minnesota’s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement finally did a test to see if starting the school day later would affect the students
Trudeau, M. (2007, January 18). High Schools Starting Later to Help Sleepy Teens. NPR. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6896471
Most people are cranky in the morning, and there is no exception for students. The fact that over half of these students have such a difficult time socialising in the morning is proof of how big of an issue the start time of school is in the education system. Not only are students more stressed, but they also experience other mood swings due to the lack of sleep that school start times create during the school week. National Public Radio aired a talk with Michelle Trudeau where she spoke on the problems of sleep in the education system. She makes it a point to discuss how having to wake up so early has a direct link to traces of depression in students in most areas of their lifestyle all across the nation ("High Schools Starting Later to Help Sleepy Teens"). This negative demeanour was not only seen by teachers in classrooms at school, but also by the parents of the student. Parents experience this moodiness at home not only after school but on the weekend as a majority of the Saturday and Sunday is spent sleeping in to make up for the student’s lack of sleep. Even more interesting is the affect a lack of sleep has on high school students after they
Selley, Chris. "Go on, sleep in: Toronto schools mull shifting classes to 11:30 to help dozing students." Maclean's 19 Nov. 2007: 158. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 18 Mar. 2012.