Adolescents today face a widespread chronic health problem called sleep deprivation. (“Backgrounder: Later School Start Times.”). First off, there are some benefits of starting school later. When starting school later in the day, it reduces the risks of stimulant and other substance abuse, and high-risk health behaviors especially during early unsupervised hours in the afternoon. (“What’s the Big Deal?”). Returning to later, healthier, safer, evidence-based school hours is a reform with the potential to improve the health, safety, and academic achievement of all students, immediately and often at low or even no cost. (“What’s the Big Deal?”). Schools in America should start later in the day to end sleep deprivation. For starters, some of the …show more content…
Starting school later helps the student’s brain think, which nowadays, teachers grade upon how children think and the ways they think. When the student wakes up later in the day rather than earlier, their bodies are way more refreshed. Young people who do not get enough sleep night after night carry a significant risk for drowsy driving; emotional and behavioral problems such as irritability, depression, poor impulse, control and violence; health complains; tobacco and alcohol use; impaired cognitive function and decision-making; and lower overall performance in everything from academics to athletics. (“Backgrounder: Later School Start Times.”). With having these things, the probability of dropping out is at its highest. Teens are among those least likely to get enough sleep; while they need an average of 9.25 hours of sleep per night for optimal performance, health and brain development, teens average fewer than 7 hours per school night by the end of high school and most report feeling tired during the day. (“Backgrounder: Later School Start Times.”). This is due to waking up at unreasonable hours in the morning. The body refreshes by getting more rest. Getting a good amount of sleep reduces depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. (“What’s the Big Deal?”). Bottom line, getting a good night rest improves mood and impulse control, which is beneficial. (“What’s the Big
Allowing students to sleep more by starting school later would benefit them in a multitude of ways and keep them from feeling enervated. According to the online article, A Wake-Up Call on High-School Starting Times, “...troubled kids often get caught up in a distress cycle in which too little sleep causes them to experience anxiety and inner turmoil, which, in turn, cause them to lose more sleep. In the worst
How many times has this happened to you; it’s six thirty on a Tuesday morning, your alarm has already gone off twice, your still laying in bed and your bus comes in twenty minutes. This is an everyday occurrence at my house. It is a proven statistic that the average high school student does not get enough sleep. While some experts like Dr. Lee Yanku say “It is not the schools starting time that is the problem as to why students don’t get enough sleep, it is because of facebook, myspace and cell phones” The truth behind it is that we can’t budget sports, homework and extracurricular activities into one day and still get nine hours of sleep. This is hurting student’s academic averages and needs to change. Changing the school time will help boost academic averages among students, and isn’t th...
Later school start times are scientifically proven to help teens in many beneficial ways. Teenagers and adolescents have sleep patterns. According to the article,¨ Teens and Sleep¨ Teens bodies naturally
“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.
One of the benefits of later school start times is improved student performance. In a study conducted by researchers from the University of Minnesota, it was found that over eight hours of sleep each night boosted test scores, attendance, and overall academic achievement (Long). With a later start time, students would be able to get a better night's sleep, and would be overall more alert (Morin). If students in school are more alert, they will be able to pay more attention to teachers.
In the two articles, “High Schools Starting Later to Help Sleepy Teens” by Michelle Trudeau and “High Schools Will Keep Starting Too Early. Here’s why” by Dan Weissman. Each author uses different evidence to support his or her claim about school starting times. According to “High School Starting Later to Help Sleepy Teens”, most teenagers are not getting the proper rest at night and is causing a severe consequence to their everyday experiences. Students need sleep because it can prevent a child from falling asleep in class and helping the child focus. “students reported less depression when there was a later starting time.”
“Hundreds of school districts around the country have pushed back school start times” States the writer for the Chicago Tribune, Kay Manning. In her essay, “Schools Awaken to Teens’ Sleep Needs,” implies students are impaired by their lack of sleep. Manning’s purpose is to convey the idea that it is a necessity for schools to look into starting school later due to the effects of sleep deficiency on children and their school work. She adopts an urgent tone in order to grab the support of her adult readers. Manning made this essay very effective through pathos, ethos, diction and syntax.
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” (...
School start times have been receiving attention across the nation since the mid-1990s (Editorial). Many school districts have considered the benefits of later start times, others have already made the leap of starting classes later in the day, while others are still reluctant to change schedules, questioning if there is any noticeable difference in academic achievement to be seen. However, almost all the school districts that have made changes thus far have reported benefits not only in student performance and achievement, but also in overall student attitude (Gormly). The reason for this is linked to teenagers’ circadian rhythm: the “biological rhythm that governs our sleep-wake cycles” (Carrell 4). In order for students to achieve academic success, schools should push back start times to better accommodate teenagers’ circadian rhythm.
Boergers, who is also co-director of the Pediatric Sleep Disorders Clinic at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, said these finding have important implications for public policy. “The result of the study add to a growing body of research demonstrating important health benefits of later school start times for adolescents,” she said. “If we more closely align school schedules with adolescents circadian rhythms and sleep needs, we will have students who are more happier, alert, and better prepared to learn.”
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.
“These experts have long said that expecting teens to show up to class before 8 a.m. is not good for their health or their report cards” (Associated Press). Schools are starting to start school later for many reasons but the important ones are it’s not good for teen health and grades it affects their grades a lot. Students from various schools are saying that students are falling asleep in class and are missing out on important information they need to do there homework.
The number one reason why school should start later because of teen’s health and safety. Nation's pediatricians, “say that middle and high school start class before 8:30 am threatens children's health, safety, and academic performance. Dr.Cora Breuner said, “we truly believe that our teenagers are getting six to seven hours of sleep a night and they need eight to ten hours”. Right
You’re in your bed sleeping peacefully when all of a sudden you’re jolted awake by your alarm. You drag yourself out of bed, having only gotten five hours of sleep. Does that sound like a nightmare? For many students, that’s a reality. Many students feel they aren’t getting enough sleep which can lead to more problems at school; therefore, school should start later in the day because it would increase grades, keep students safer, and allow teenagers to get enough sleep.
Fifty six percent of students report being tired throughout the school day, which can lead to missed information and confusion (Wysong). According to this statistic, over half the students in class are not going to achieve their maximum learning potential in school. In order to avoid this problem, a teenager's brain typically needs to sleep from 11:00 pm to 8:00 am (“High schools starting later to help sleepy teens”). However, most high schools require students to be in class as early as 7:15 or 7:30 am. As a result, many adolescents simply do not have the opportunity to get enough rest. Changing the traditional school time to start later in the day will benefit adolescent sleep cycles, promote learning, and prevent disease by regulating the body. Ideally,...