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Should Schools Start Later Research Paper

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Sleep is very important for everyone. It is especially important for adolescents who are still developing. Brain development and recharging of the body are both things that take place while an adolescent sleeps. Without enough sleep, the body isn’t prepared for the next day. The body needs to get the recommended hours of sleep or it won’t perform to its best ability. In adolescents, this is an issue because scientists are finding teens are getting less and less hours of sleep due to hectic schedules causing their bodies to be worn out. Research is showing that by having schools start later, teens are getting the sleep they need to be awake and alert for the next day. Today, most schools start around 8:00 am or earlier at about 7:30 am. School …show more content…

According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens require just as much sleep as they did when they were children which is about 9 ¼ hours of sleep a night because their brain is still developing.(1) For a teen to get a minimum of 9 ¼ hours of sleep they would need to go to bed at about 9 pm to wake up at around 6 am to get to class by 7:30 am. That’s if they don’t have to catch the bus which would make their wake time even earlier. The average time that teens fall asleep is 11 pm or later.(3) Teachers say if students are tired then it’s their own fault. Teachers tell students they need to go to bed earlier but a study showed that teens not going to sleep before 11, may not be their own fault. Circadian rhythm is the internal alarm clock inside the body that tells the body when to go to sleep and when to wake up.(5) The circadian rhythm sends a signal to release melatonin in saliva which makes the body go to sleep.(5) This secretion occurs later at night in teens and later in the morning which causes teens to go to bed later but not be able to wake up earlier.(5) Along with medical reasons, teens can’t go to bed early because of busy schedules. They have to go to school for 8 hours a day then some have sports, work, chores and on top of that all homework. There is only 24 hours in a day and teens can only handle so much being sleep

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