High school students are forced to believe that sleep deprivation is no big deal. Although many people have tried different methods to improve the school system, the best way would be to delay school by one hour. Starting school one hour later will ensure better attendance, safer transportation, improved concentration, and less behavioral issues.
Although delaying school would have many positive results, some believe it would be difficult to delay school due to the interference with student jobs and time to do homework or study for tests ("School Start" 1). Parent work schedules and extracurricular activities would also be hard to work around; however, the benefits of delaying school outweigh the negative impacts (Cline 2). A study in Rhode Island, where the school’s start times were changed to 8:30 A.M., a mere 30 minutes after the previous school start times, was conducted and showed many positive results (1-2). Once the times were pushed back, students obtained 45 more minutes of sleep than before (Owens 1). From a study in Minnesota, where the times were pushed back, urban students received more sleep even at their normal bedtimes and were more energized. The urban students also listened better and completed more of their assignments (Cline 1). Some believe that rather than just delaying school by one hour, it should also be extended (Kalish 3). By extending school, there is a better chance for students to learn and to have a better grasp on the topic, study for tests, and catch up on make-up work. Extending school by one hour would also supply more time for instruction from teachers. Having a longer school day will also provide students with time after school for jobs, family time, and relaxation, which w...
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...age drivers (Cline 2). Research done by Amy R. Wolfson, PhD, and Mary A. Carskadon, PhD, showed that students who received more sleep scored higher on tests than students who received less sleep (Carpenter 1).
“Over time, sleep deprivation leads to serious consequences for academic achievement, social behavior, and the health and safety of our nation’s youth,” Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren added. “We must encourage schools to push back their start times to at least 8:30 A.M.- a schedule more in tune with adolescents’ biological sleep and wake patterns and more closely resembling the adult work day” (“School” 1). Schools should be delayed by one hour in order to improve the overall school system, resulting in higher attendance rates, safer vehicular transportation, higher levels of concentration and academic performance, and less behavioral issues in the classroom.
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
Researchers have found a way to connect sleep with education. Gary Scarpello who wrote "Lack Of Sleep Could Be Trouble For CTE Students” , did a research study with liberty mutual showed that teens had an average of 7.2 hours of sleep on school nights and 33 to 75 % of all students have sleep problems. In the article it had stated that not getting enough sleep can cause impaired hand eyed coordination, reaction time and brief mental lapses. (Scarpello). The same researchers also found out that Sleep helps restores brain functions such as alertness, metabolism, and memory and regulate hormones (Scarpello). Researchers Mary A. Carskardon and A.R. Wolfson studied 3,120 Rhode Island children. They had figured out that college students who slept more than nine hours a night had a gr...
Students may need to nap to compensate for energy expended throughout the day. However, if schools were to start later, adolescents would not have to nap, allowing for a larger window of time to spend with their families after school, even with a later start time. Another opposing argument is that students would have less time to participate in extracurricular activities. However, this issue can be resolved by making practices for sports and club meetings shorter and more frequent to accommodate the schedule variation. Overall, the benefits of later start times far outweigh the drawbacks.
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...
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
In Dr. Michael Breus’ blog post, “Teens Need More Sleep Than You Think,” he states that teenagers are “wolves” or the chronotype that centers around going to sleep late. A chronotype is the time a person’s internal clock is set to at a given time in their life. Teenagers are a part of the chronotype that goes to bed later and wakes up later. Teenagers naturally go to bed at around 11:00 pm and need between eight and ten hours of sleep every night because of their chronotype. This means that going to school as early as 7:00, and waking up at 5:30, could lead to getting up to two and a half fewer hours of sleep than needed. This can have many harmful side effects. Also, it is simply hard to accomplish simple tasks early in the morning for both sleep deprived people, but also the wolf chronotype. Tasks that can be harder earlier in the morning can be as simple as speaking to other people or getting dressed, not to mention doing school work or driving. In fact, according to Dr. Robert Daniel Vorona from the Eastern Virginia Medical School, starting highs schools earlier can lead to an increase in driving related accidents. Dr. Vorona analyzed two cities, Chesterfield, Virginia, which had a 7:20 am start time, and Henrico County, which had an 8:45 am start time. He found that for every 1,000 drivers with licenses from the ages of 16 to 18 in Chesterfield there were 49
Pushing back school hours helps a student get more sleep therefore doing better in school. Say a student just woke up and they're late to school, with little sleep. In their first class they have a test and because they’re tired paying attention is hard. “ new research suggests a letter high school starts have widespread benefits”(Hoofman 12). This study shows that research has been done showing us we
For instance, students grades and test scores can be improved greatly by the etra sleep offered.To be more precise parents belive classes before 8:30a.m threatens acedemic performances greatly. More specifically starting classes later will improve grades in class and boosts standardized test scores. Students with a lower ability receive a better impact from delayed start times In 1998, Amy wolfson and Mary Carskadon surveyed more than 3000 high school and middle school students. They found that the students getting 25 fewer minutes of sleep got C’s,D’s and F’s. The students that went to bed earlier got A’s and B’s.
“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 many arising problems of America’s students is they are becoming sleep deprived. The busy daily schedules of children and teens are not allowing them to get enough sleep. “Less sleep is unhealthy especially with the new research that as teenagers move through teenage years, they need increasing amounts of sleep. Nine hours per night is the necessary amount to avoid behaviors associated with sleep deprivation” (Final Report Summary, 2001). Among other things, sleep deprivation is causing students to sleep during class instead of being awake and aware. When the students are sleeping in class, they are not retaining information being taught to them. Researchers have now proven that the majority of adolescents retain more information later in the day. Contrary to this information, America’s school systems are programmed to begin early in the day, which according to the sleep rhythms of most teenagers, they should still be sleeping.
“Study: Many high school students don’t get enough sleep; performance suffers.” Health & Medicine Week 19 May 2013: 58. Academic Universe: Document. Lexis-Nexis. 13 Nov. 2013
Experts centralized in sleep have found that scantly sleep leads to a decrease in vigilance as well as awareness. Students suffering from sleep deprivation have a shortened attention span making it more difficult to grasp concepts. According to Philip R. Gehrman, this also effected subjects’ ability to perform simple cognitive tasks, pursuant to logical reasoning and complex thought. There is a strong argument being made that these “early” school hours are in place to prepare teens for their future as hard working businessmen and businesswomen. The opposition coheres to the thought that building a tolerance for sleepless nights is the way to go. “Get Used To It! More than likely a student will end up with a job that is from 8-5, why complain when you can just go to bed a little bit earlier and get up at a normal time.” This was exclaimed by a critic upon being inquired on whether or not schools should start later. As adequate as this logic sounds, it is highly flawed; there is no tolerance built up against sleep insufficiency. The only consummations are a shift in biological clock (due solely to adulthood), and gratified mediocrity.
If all of these important activities occur during sleep, why is it that people are so willing to short themselves of this vital activity? Although much about sleep still remains a mystery, research and experiments continue to show how important sleep is to each and every person. Throughout this paper, I will discuss sleep and the effects that it has on performance and health, especially among college students. A college student’s sleeping pattern is a reliable indicator of their level of performance in the classroom and other school-affiliated activities, as a lack of sleep leads to decreased performance. Sleep is directly related to the level of performance and health of an individual; the more rested a person is, the better that person will perform and feel (Dryer, 2006).
Don't you hate waking up early for school in the morning? Most high school students wake up before the sun rises just to become ready for school. Teenage brains do not begin to function that early considering many are tired from staying up late the previous night. The National Sleep Foundation reported that most teens do not retain enough shuteye, one study found that only 15% reported sleeping eight 1/2 hours on school nights. That fact was extremely true for me when I attended high school. I barely was able to wake up, get dressed, and be in school on time since I was so tired. In my opinion school days should start later, precisely in between 9- 10 o'clock. If the school day started later attendance would improve, students will be more prepared, and student's attitudes and grades may improve.
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,...