I. Attention Getter: The alarm sounds at 6:00. You’ve only gotten four hours of sleep. You stub your toe on your dresser, have your clothes on backwards, spill your coffee, and forget not only your homework but your entire backpack. You have a case of “The Mondays”. Unfortunately, your case of “The Mondays” falls on a Thursday.
II. Link: According to the Washington Post, sleep deprivation can affect mood, performance, attention, learning, and behavior.
III. Thesis Statement: In order to increase attendance rates, allow students to perform better in class, and reduce health risks, Carmel High School should have school start later.
IV. Preview Statement: I will be talking about the advantages that studies have shown about school starting later,
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Studies have proven that students will be more punctual, attend school more often, pay more attention and be engaged in class.
A. According to the National Sleep Foundation, most students get, on average, 7 hours of sleep when they are supposed to be getting 8.5 and 9.25 hours per night. It is biologically proven that it is difficult for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 p.m. and wake up before 8 a.m. (American Academy of Pediatrics).
B. Not only does pushing back the school starting times provide more sleep for students but also betters teens’ health. 1. Causes sleep deprivation
2. Sleep deprivation causes depression, irritability, poor impulse control and violence, alcohol and drug use, impaired decision making, and overall lower performance in everything from academics to athletics (National Sleep Foundation).
C. Reduces number of morning car accidents 1. When teens have not had a good night’s sleep, they are more likely to get in a car accident. 2. Drowsydriving.org states that 1 out of 10 drivers have fallen asleep at the wheel in the past year. Also, 1 out of 6 deadly traffic accidents is a direct result of drowsy driving.
II. Many people argue that making the decision to change schools starting and dismissal times would cause too many issues with scheduling for other
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
This leaves students with less than the recommended 9 hours of sleep. Students that have to stay up that late for homework will be tired in the morning, even if their school starts later. Many people argue that starting schools later will let students get more sleep and align with the students sleep cycles. But they do not factor in that students will just stay up later at night because they know that they do not have to get up as early in the morning. This will just leave students with less sleep than before.
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.
Starting school later also has a lot of health and academical benefits. Even if the school day starts 30 minutes later, It has proven to show great benefits for teenagers. In the pass Up For Debate: Should School Start Later It says “As a result, students were showing up to school alert and ready to learn and are focused and engaged in lessons.” Some people believe that starting earlier is better because a later start results in a later end to the day. But changing it to a later time will still give kids enough time to sleep and get their work
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
Judith Owens, M.D., M.P.H., Director of Sleep Medicine, Children’s National Medical Center stated that, “There’s no question that later [school] start times pose significant challenges and barriers, … but [making a change to the these start times] is something within our control, something we can change to make a significant impact on the long-term health of children” (Clarkson para. 29) The issue regarding when the start to the school day should begin may not seem like a threatening topic that drastically affects our lives, but as Owens stated it has a “long-term” effect on the generations of tomorrow. In order words, the school start times do affect many individuals, not only in the present, but carries it out throughout their lives. These long-term effects may come from the result of sleep deprivation and stress piled upon students during the school year. These issues may not seem rather insignificant at its moment, but they can and will negatively affect the children. Therefore, the starting times for schools should be pushed back a least an hour to not only to benefit the students physically and mentally, but also academically, and although there are some conflicts in doing so, the overall outcome results in giving adolescents a healthier future, with a chance of reaching greater opportunities.
Based on the article on The National Sleep Foundation, when it's time for school the average teen body still thinks it's the middle of the night.
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
Teens are wired to be night owls and are still required to sleep at least a whole 9 hours to be able to function properly. Studies show that a school with later arrival times is 16.5% less likely to have a car crash than a school with earlier start times. Sleep is very important in order to reduce teen car crashes. If students don’t graduate from high school then who will teach them how go through life. Later school leads to higher graduation rates.
Drowsy driving is the cause of 100,000 car crashes per year. Teens need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night, but only 15% reported that they get 8 ½ hours of sleep. With this lack of sleep, this can lead to dangers behind the wheel. When you do not get enough sleep, you are putting yourself, and surrounding drivers in danger, once you get behind the wheel.
As Elizabeth Malatesta states, “The adolescent body doesn’t begin to produce melatonin, a hormone linked to sleep cycles, until around 11pm, leaving adolescents with a limited window in which to obtain sufficient sleep”, this shows that teens aren’t getting enough sleep because school starts at a time in which doesn’t allow them to get the amount of
Amelia pounds on the alarm clock at dawn in exhaustion. She falls right back asleep since she has hit the SNOOZE button yet again. She then hears the footsteps of her parents walking the hallway that leads to her room. Suddenly a loud scream ringing in her ears signaling for her to wake up once again. She knows that the bus will be here soon to pick her up for school. So, she drags her half-awake body out from underneath her sheets, staggers toward the bathroom, and hits the wall both literally and figuratively. This is a typical morning for not only Amelia but most adolescents as they battle the early morning start times of schools. Therefore, teenagers need school to start at a later time. Schools must start later for teenagers because of health issues, educational reasons, and increase injuries/ deaths.
We have all had mornings where you felt like you just couldn’t get up because you were so exhausted. What if I told you there was a way to not have those anymore? Teens/adolescents all around the world struggle just like you to get up in the morning. Then when we get to school still tired we are expected to perform at our absolute best? Starting school later could give teens the sleep they need to execute their very best work at school. People have a lot of problems with waking up early and going to their school for 7-8 hours. It is not a rare issue. Schools should start later because teens aren’t getting enough sleep, there are a lot of risks to lack of sleep, and students perform better when they get more rest.
Many people are resistant to change, especially if it involves reassembling their plans and procedures to adjust to the new schedule. This is a problem for parents’ work schedules since they most likely will not be able to see their kids in the morning which will leave students unsupervised when they get ready. This is also a problem for transportation since parents will not be able to take their kids to school which might cause traffic and more costs since bus schedules would change too. According to the Sleep Foundation, "If elementary students have the earliest start times, they may be waiting for the bus in the dark early mornings, or waiting at home alone after school." Later start times are thought to solve tardies and absences, but if students cannot get to school, it does not solve anything. A change in the school schedule will result in disorder in many people’s daily routines perhaps having to discard certain activities to fully adjust to the new schedule. The changes caused by a new schedule affects students
Lack of sleep may cause an accident. As you get drowsy, your reaction becomes slow as much as driving drunk.