"A third of our life we spend sleeping. This period, when the body is at rest and sensory input is more or less inactive, is in fact a time of intense activity for the brain" (Sleep and It 's Secrets). Many high schools start at 7:30 am, which means that to get the recommended eight to nine hours of sleep, high schoolers would have to be asleep by 9:00 pm. With sports practices, club meetings, music lessons and practice, homework, and studying, a bedtime that early is unheard of for these teens. Sleep is a crucial aspect of development and functioning, but with school start times this early, teenagers aren 't getting enough. Biologically, they are not wired to go to bed early and start school so early. This means, academically, they are …show more content…
Both are related to a lack of attention, tardiness, and absence. At best, the students are unable to grasp and retain the information the homework tries to teach because they lose focus and do it quickly, as a task in and of itself. Often, they are either copying homework, choosing not to do the homework, or deciding not to study at all, in hopes of getting every single minute of sleep. High school is a prime time for educational growth, with fast paced learning, Advance Placement classes, research projects, and multiple tests a week. However, due to the students lack of sleep, students aren 't able to truly absorb the presented material. They don 't reflect on research they are given or expand on the topics that interest them. Attempts to improve or increase their ability to attend or focus can result in unhealthy and unsafe practices of consuming large amounts of caffeine (coffees and high energy drinks) or taking others ' prescription stimulants (Ritalin and Xanax). Decreased learning and poor retention are also a result of tardiness and absences. "One Carnegie Mellon University study found that sleeping less than seven hours a night associated with a tripled risk of coming down with a cold" (Schocker). This increased illness hinders school attendance, as does the inability to wake up on time. Students, who are home sick, who are …show more content…
Studies have found a link between a lack of sleep and heightened risk of disease, forming later in life. Discovery News author, Emily Sohn, said that "chronic sleep deprivation can cause obesity... and other ills" (Sohn). Along with that, dementia, hypertension, and strokes can also be a result of an insufficient amount of sleep
It is true that sleep deprivation is a widespread issue, generally resulting from early start times. It is also a serious one; according to a study by Harvard Medical School, sleep deprivation can lead to issues such as obesity, heart disease, difficulty learning, and can genuinely shorten a person’s lifespan. As Robbins explains, teenagers have a different internal sleep clock than other age groups. It is most healthy for students in high school to go to bed around 11 and wake up around 9. Since school often begins as early as 7, students are told they simply need to go to bed early, around 8 or 9 PM. This contention does not take into account the fact that humans are biologically not wired this way, and it's virtually impossible for most teens to fall asleep this early. It also doesn't take into account that with clubs, sports, church, volunteering, other extracurriculars and hours of homework, students often struggle to start their homework before their suggested “bedtime”. It is contended that students can control their own schedules so that they can get more sleep. However, pressure from parents and peers to get into a “good” college can cloud students’ perceptions of what is right for them, making them choose to overwork themselves in order to build impressive resumes. I myself can identify with this phenomenon. During the weekdays alone, I volunteer two nights a
According to the National Sleep Foundation, biological sleep patterns change throughout the stages of adolescence. ¨Biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence-meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00pm.¨ (¨Teens and Sleep¨). Messing with these sleep cycles in the long run and lead to sleep disorders. Research done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests teenagers 13-18 years old should regularly sleep 8-10 hours each night for a healthy sleep. The teens who do not get a good amount of sleep are more likely to suffer from mental conditions, smoking, illicit drugs, and alcohol use. ¨Not getting enough sleep is common among high school students and is associated with several health risks including being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and using drugs, as well as poor academic performance.¨ (¨Schools Start Too Early¨). On an NBC news story, Hilton Head Island High School moved its start time and benefits were noticeable. Students had higher test score averages and grades improved throughout the school.A study done in 2008 published in the journal of clinical sleep, found car accident rates fell by 16.5% when students were more aware on the road, not having to wake up before 7 am.
In this article Amanda MacMillan says that "Middle and high school should start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., says the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)." MacMillan explains that the AASM recommends that teenagers should sleep 8 to 10 hours a night. But according to the CDC, "almost 70% of high-school students report sleeping 7 hours or less on a regular basis." MacMillan names a few of the serious consequences that can teens can have if they don't get the recommended amount of sleep like depressive symptoms, obesity, risk taking behaviors and athletic injuries. She says that as children go through puberty, their brains start producing melatonin on a delayed schedule, making it hard of them to feel tired before 11 p.m. MacMillan states
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” (...
Teenagers need more sleep to go throughout the day. It has been proven multiple times that teenagers do not tend to wake up early and go to sleep later. In the article Should School Stay Early it says “They have a biological tendency to
It is reported that 2/3 of students get less than seven hours of sleep, which is more than an hour under the minimal suggested sleep time (Mckibben, Sarah G. "Wake Up Calls (Fast Facts)." Start School Later. School Start Later, 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2015). Without the proper sleep, students will be falling asleep in class. One third of students fall asleep during school from lack of concentrated sleep. “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that middle and high schools start class no earlier than 8:30 a.m. to allow students to get healthy sleep” (Mckibben, Sarah G. "Wake Up Calls (Fast Facts)." Start School Later. School Start Later, 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2015). With only fifteen percent of all public high schools starting after 8:30 a.m. that means that 85 percent of teens are not getting the standard amount of healthy sleep. Studies show that sleep deprived students are more likely to be involved in violent crimes than those who get a good night’s sleep. By simply pushing school start times back a half an hour or so, it would greatly benefit both the students and the society surrounding the individuals because of reduced crime
“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 up cycle, which can make early school start times particularly challenging.” says Boergers.
Have you ever felt so tired in the middle of class? A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that 70% percent of teens aren't getting enough sleep. Most people are blaming this on school times. For many students, school starts way too early and are ruining their sleep schedules and themselves in particular.
Teens are recommended to get 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night to be able to function to the best of their ability. A study found that only 15% of teens receive 8.5 hours on school night. According to the CDC, “Five out of six middle and high schools in the United States start the school day too early.” Most high schools start before 8:30 A.M. High schools starting too early in the morning can cause high school students to not get their necessary amount of sleep. Lack of sleep can cause harmful health effects. Not getting enough sleep can cause behavior effects such as aggressiveness and impulsivity. Not getting enough sleep can also cause you to overeat, which can lead to unhealthy weight gain. Changing the start time of high schools can assure high school students with their appropriate amount of
Sleep! That wonderful, blissful void between last night and this morning. Sleep is one of the most basic functions of life. Nearly all creatures must sleep in order to properly carry out tasks; teenagers are no exception. The typical teenager needs an average of nine to ten hours of sleep a night in order for their brains to be capable of working at full capacity. School starts so early that they infringe upon that basic necessity. In order for teens to receive an adequate amount of sleep, it is mandatory to enact later start times for high schools across the country.
70% of high school students, like you and me, are sleep deprived; this means getting less than 7 hours of sleep. The teenage body needs relevant to 8 to 10 hours of sleep because the body is going through an important stage of growth and development. We get this sleep at delayed hours, like 11 p.m. and 12 a.m., due to chemical imbalance during our teenage years. In behalf of this delayed balance and early rising for school purposes, the body and brain are negatively impacted. The only known solution to this epidemic is schools having a later start time. Schools should start later because it could eliminate mental disorders and improve health, causing classroom grades to exceed.
Ed Ehlinger of the University of Michigan's Boynton Health Service said in a statement. "There is a direct link between the two." I’m not alone when I say I’m tired. According to the Sleep Foundation, ¨About two-thirds of Americans say their sleep needs are not being met during the week.¨ If school were to start later, kids might do better in school and not be tired during the school day. No Sleepless Nights (an advocacy group) recommends that everybody try to get into a schedule, waking up and going to bed at relatively constant times every day of the week. On school days, I go to bed late and wake up early, and on weekends its quite the opposite, as I try to make up for lost sleep. This habit is unhealthy. If school started later, I could get into a healthy sleep schedule and not have to recover from under-slept nights. According to The National Sleep Foundation it is natural for teens to be most alert around 11 pm and then need to sleep in in the morning. ¨This shift in teens' circadian rhythm causes them to naturally feel alert later at night, making it difficult for them to fall asleep before 11:00 pm. Since most teens have early school start times along with other commitments, this sleep phase delay
According to Danny Lewin, a sleep specialist at Children’s National Health System in Washington D.C. “Adolescents have a deeply programmed biological [clock] to go to bed later and wake later.” This shows that kids naturally stay up late and wake up later. From personal experience, not too long ago I was at a track meet in Dayton, by the time our Sheridan team got back it was 11:00 pm and we were tired. The next day I’m really tired, and struggling to keep myself awake. Our growing bodies need sleep to function properly. Students are going to start feeling tired and lazy. More sleep means everything to the students, especially because of our “deeply programmed biological
When children make the transition from primary school to middle school or high school, it affects them a lot when the changing of their own sleep cycle affects the way they actually learn. Dr. Judith Owens, who is the director of the Sleep Medicine Clinic at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., says "adolescents are programmed to fall asleep later,” (2013). She wants to change school start times to later 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). She also says that most teens can’t usually fall asleep until 11 p.m. Sleep expert Amy Wolfson of College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., says that children should try to get eight and a half to nine and a half hours of sleep a night. Waking up at six a.m. leads to bad sleep patterns creating sleep deprivation.
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.