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Sleep among teens
Empirical review on sleep duration and academic performance
Impact of lack of sleep on the academic performance of high school students
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Introduction Sleep studies have been conducted since as early as 1913. However, the impact of school start times on student academics is often overlooked by most schools. In reality, start times can significantly affect academic performance by disrupting adolescents' normal sleep cycle, leading to a lack of sleep that impairs learning, and hindering academic performance. These theories have been tested through sleep studies, and most of them have been found to be true. Sleep Cycle Changes When children transition from primary school to middle or high school, it can significantly affect their learning due to changes in their sleep cycle. According to Dr. Judith Owens, director of the Sleep Medicine Clinic at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., "adolescents are programmed to fall asleep later" (2013). She advocates for later school start times 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). Additionally, most teens cannot fall asleep until 11 p.m. Sleep expert Amy Wolfson of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., recommends that children aim for eight and a half to nine and a half hours of sleep per night. Waking up at 6 a.m. can disrupt sleep patterns and lead to sleep deprivation. A new poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health has revealed that 50 percent of high school students report starting school at 8 a.m. or earlier....
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...Education World. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin314.shtml Aubrey, A. (2013, December 2). Parents Of Sleep-Deprived Teens Push For Later School Start Times. NPR. Retrieved March 4, 2014, from http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/02/247314202/parents-of-sleep-deprived-teens-push-for-later-school-start-times Carpenter, S. (n.d.). Sleep deprivation may be undermining teen health. http://www.apa.org. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/sleepteen.aspx 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
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.”
Wolfson, Amy R., et al. "Middle School Start Times: The Importance of a Good Night's Sleep for
Jane E. Brody, a well-respected columnist for The New York Times’s Health section, wrote an interesting article, Hard Lesson in Sleep for Teenagers, in 2014 on the importance of sleep for teenagers, as well as the risks of deprivation of sleep. In the article Brody states, that a poll done in 2006, demonstrated that an average adolescent sleeps less than 20 percent of what the recommended average of eight to nine hours of sleep. Brody then goes on to explain that, while interviewing Dr. Judith A Owens, adolescents who drive while sleep deprived are just as dangerous as adolescents who drive drunk. Brody then explains the advantages to not starting school too early. One advantage she discussed, from a study done by Kyla Wahlstorm, supports the idea of starting school later because of the increase in students’ grade point averages in
The alarm beeps again sounding like a fire alarm going off. School starts before 8am. Using your fingers to hold open your eyes and dragging your feet, you get in the car and drive yourself to school. Will you even be able to make it through your day? School days for teens start to early. Teens aren't getting the sleep recommended for a healthy start to their day. Later start times for middle and high schools are proven to benefit both students and teachers.
“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.
“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.
If school started later, kids wouldn’t be so tired in the morning. School starting later is very beneficial because kids wouldn’t sleep so much in class. Students need a total of 8-10 hours of sleep on school days to be awake in the morning. 33% of teens report falling asleep in class every day. 73% of high school students get fewer than 8 hours of sleep on school nights, with 46% of middle school students getting barely 7 hours of sleep.
An early school start time for teens causes more than just an attitude problem; waking up too early causes mental illnesses, obesity, hazardousness, tardiness, absence, and declining grades. The argument between early and late school start times is only important because teens need more sleep, more sleep is the answer. Teenagers across the U.S. are affected by high school start times daily, often being too tired or aggravated to show up and participate in classroom activities. Many people would like to think it's our fault that we don't go to sleep early enough and finish our homework late, but it is much more than what it looks like. Teens have complicated body clocks, much more different than adults or children, but it is not respected.
However, in defiance of these disagreements, pushing school start times back and starting at a later time could improve the performance of young teens and could prevent the many accidents that happen often. According to Judith Owens, “Studies have shown that delaying early school start times is one key factor that can help adolescents get the sleep they need to grow and learn” (Hanes 3). Those who have constantly pushed for school start times say they hope this recommendation from the widely respected AAP will put new pressure on school districts, (Hanes
Officials have been searching for a way to alleviate the problem of teen sleep deprivation for decades. In the 1990s State Legislatures and Congress passed acts on when schools should start. In an attempt to lessen sleep deprivation and crime, the Minnesota State Legislature passed a bill in 1997-98 prohibiting schools from starting before 8 a.m. (Pappas). Similarly, in 1998 the
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,
Waking up for school in the morning is getting harder and harder for students enrolled in Nooksack Valley High School. Due to the early start time for our high school, most students don’t get the needed amount of sleep to power through the challenging day. I know from personal experience that if I don’t get at least eight hours of sleep, I will rarely give a hundred percent into my classes and often leads to getting behind. According to Sleep in Adolescents (13-18 Years) the average amount of sleep teenagers need is between 9 and 9.5 hours of sleep, however the average amount they get is around 7 hours.
The time is seven in the morning and teens everywhere are dreading waking up early, as the sky is still dark, to actually go do something. Most teenagers struggle to wake up every morning for school. Although schools have been starting early for years now, times are changing and there are more activities going on in today’s teenagers lives. School is starting too early for teenagers because their brains are not awake, they are biologically programmed differently, and they are not getting the required amount of sleep.
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.
“Sleep deprivation is a growing public health issue affecting our nation’s adolescents, putting them at risk for metal, physical, and emotional distress and disorders” (Kobler, Par. 2). Sleep is essential for proper body development. Studies have shown that loss of sleep can lead to metabolic disorders, as well as improper growth function. Between the ages of 14 and 17, teenagers should achieve 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep to have excellent health and learning. “While implementing a delayed school start time can be emotional and potentially stressful issue for school districts, families, and members of the community, the health benefits for adolescents far outweigh any potential negative consequences,” said Dr.