The Importance Of Physical Health

Imagine, the alarm sounds at 6 am as Oliver stumbles out of bed, eyes half open. He gets dressed, eats his breakfast, then gets in his car and begins the daily commute to school. However, today is different. Crash, bang, smoke. So why is starting school at such an early hour a problem for youth? Driving when fatigued is always a risk, however sleep related accidents are especially high amongst drivers aged twenty five and under, and the risks increase even more when the driver is between the ages sixteen and nineteen (Hamiduzzaman & Phillips, 2014). Unfortunately, for students, they do not have the time to wake up fully before getting in the car, unless they were to wake up even earlier than already established. It is embedded in human biology

Physical health is usually associated with sickness like a cold, weight, or injury. However, in this case it is referring to the overall health of the body. Sleep is essential to keep the body functioning how it should, but eliminate that and what is left? A study of students in Germany who were not "morning-type people" displayed a trend usage of caffeine and other depressants to help cope with early mornings (Kelley et al, 2015). To be putting substances like soda or alcohol in the body is already not good for it, however when being abused to help stay awake, these substances are not being used in tolerable doses. Dependence on energy drinks is clear, and most think nothing of it, nevertheless the effect the high sugar content has on the body could result in diabetes. Or if the substance is alcohol, it could result in a damaged liver or alcoholism. Authors for the article Sleep Deprivation - a Risk Factor for Damaging the Adolescents ' Health construct research to show the effects of sleep deprivation on physical health:

It was revealed that sleep deprivation leads to health ailments, which, especially for the students, have serious negative effects [...] in cases of chronic sleep deprivation, leading to a collapse of the immune system, and hence increased susceptibility to viral and infectious diseases (Milanova & Lazarova,

These days, an education is essential for anyone to get a decent paying job. It is not possible to live off of bare minimum anymore. Although there is little evidence to link school start times and poor academic performance (Edwards, 2012), it can be seen how the lack of sleep can affect performance at school. Jacob and Rockoff (2012) note that a program on a small scale could allow districts to gain some insight on the situation without interfering with everyone. Sleep affects motor skills, regardless of whether there is a link to school times. The article Synchronizing Education to Adolescent Biology: ‘let teens sleep, start school later’ shines a light on academic performance, stating that, "Adolescent studies found poor communication, decreased motor performance, [...]" (Kelley et al, 2015). The brain needs time to 'wake up ' and adjust before jumping straight into the intake of information. Going to school at eight in the morning and being asked to write a test can be quite a challenge if the brain is not yet functioning, and it is believed that the adolescent brain may not properly begin functionality until as late as 10 AM. It is a common belief that adolescents have brought this upon themselves by staying up too late, or the fact that they are just simply too lazy to be bothered this early in the morning. No direct