Sleep Deprivation In America's Schools

Over 87% of teenagers don’t get enough sleep and go to school tired. Teenagers have constant expectations to live up to, but with the amount of sleep they’re getting it can be seemingly impossible. The question has been brought up time and time again, should the school day start later? Because of the risks of not getting enough sleep, trying to keep up with their their busy schedules, and being in their adolescent years, having the school day start later would help teenagers around the world immensely.

The article “Later start time for teens improves grades, mood, and safety” addresses the topic for teens to have later start times. “The evidence shows that the later the start time, the greater the academic benefits” (Wahlstrom 2016, pg 2). The author has strong arguments concluding the medical research, schools actually participating in later start times, academic outcomes, and health/activity outcome. School starting times being later could be more effective for students in their health and scholastic purposes.

It has a financial effect for college, better grades mean more chances for scholarships. In a study from Wake County, North Carolina, they examined how start times affect the performance of middle school students on standardized tests. They found that delaying school start times by one hour, from roughly 7:30 to 8:30, increased standardized test scores by at least 2 percentile points in math and 1 percentile point in reading (Edwards). These results suggest that delaying start times may be a cost-effective method of increasing student performance. Since the effect of later start times is stronger for the lower end of the distribution of test scores, later start times may be particularly effective in meeting accountability standards that require a minimum level of competency (Edwards). Changing the start time helps you get better grades, which may increase your chances of receiving scholarships, reducing your spending for

Starting classes at a later time would allow teens to get enough sleep, and complete their sleep cycle. All schools that start before 8 a.m have teens that are still being pressured by their melatonin to fall back asleep (Nolan). To prevent this urge to fall asleep, many sleep experts have been pushing for school starting times be set at 8:30. This gives teens time to complete the REM stage of sleeping, the dream stage. Allowing them to physically and mentally prepare themselves for the day.

One of the positive reasons of school starting later is, how many students do not get enough sleep. The acceptable amount of sleep for a teenager is 8-10 hours of sleep and most students tend to get less than 7 hours of sleep a night. Teenagers are hot wired to stay up late and wake up late, schools starting at 7:00-7:30

The concept of sleep is simple. It is the natural unconsciousness that humans partake in on a daily basis. There are many different types of sleep that help people function in a healthy manner. Sleeping at night and naps are both very healthy and restorative. Humans sleep for many reasons. They are: helping to recuperate, restore and rebuild fading memories, help to feed creative thinking, supports growth and weight loss, and flushes harmful toxins from the brain. Sleep is one of the most important things any person can easily do, yet over forty million Americans are sleep deprived and one in three people around the world does not get enough sleep per night (Hsu). Among these statistics are students. Many studies have been conducted and results say the ninety percent of students do not get the recommended number of hours of sleep per night. The effects on a normal sleep deprived person are increased amounts of ghrelin (a hunger hormone), a decreased metabolic rate, and an increase in cortisol which is a stress hormone that releases fat (LaVasseur). These are the effects on a sleep deprived adult, but what are the effects on students? Lack of sleep is harmful to everyone, but especially to a student whose brain is still developing. Sleep deprivation is detrimental to a student’s brain because it causes them to slow down their performance, decline academically, think and judge carelessly, and forget tasks and learned concepts in school.

Sleep deprivation in teens is a growing concern in America. Teens should be getting eight to twelve hours of sleep a night, yet many are getting seven or less (Orr). This lack of sleep affects their thinking, their driving, their mood, their behavior, and their future health. External and internal factors contribute to insufficient sleep. Suggestions such as enforced bedtimes and less media exposure can only help a little. On the other hand, allowing teens to sleep-in on a daily basis could be a great benefit. Schools in America start early in the morning. In a survey of forty schedules posted on the Internet from high schools across the country, 48% started at 7:30 AM or earlier, whereas only 12% started between 8:15 a.m. and 8:55 a.m. (Millman 1776). Besides robbing teens of four to seven hours of sleep per week, this schedule works against their natural sleep cycle. School start times need to be made later to help teens get the amount of

Sleeping is a huge problem. Kids are suppose to sleep for 9 hours. But most of the time they only get 5 hours or less. Another problem is that kids sleep in class. And they get sick easier. School should start at 9:00. Kids don't even have time for breakfast. If school started a little later we would have time for breakfast.And if kids eat breakfast at school they usually get tardy.

“Sleep is the best meditation,” Dalai Lama, intermediate students should have one period where they can relax and rest during the school day. More sleep is important to students because it helps them study, and therefore they can be more focused. Rest is also proven to relieve stress, this is promising especially for teens, who are experiencing a lot of changes. Teenagers need to rest more than adults, so sleep is a necessity to students. Intermediates require the extra sleep, which means a period a day of rest will definitely be beneficial.

With so much going on for the youth in this era, sleep is not a priority for teenagers. Instead, staying up past midnight to finish an essay (such as this one), waking up at 4:30 in the morning to work out before school begins, and having no time to snooze in the afternoon due to after school activities and homework all have a piece contributing with sleep deprivation that turns millions of American teens into zombies living off of Monsters. The truth is, when the opportunity for sleep is presented to teenagers, many would rather do a leisure activity instead of catching up on their loss of endless hours of sleep. Even if the school hours were changed to a later start, many teenagers would still rather stay up doing leisure activities, they

In the US most schools start at 8 o'clock to 8 thirty in the morning. that's too early(Wheaton). This doesn’t leave enough time for teenagers to get their well needed sleep. But it is very important for a teens wellbeing. Schools need to move back their times in order to benefit students

At six in the morning a loud blaring Beep Beep Beep blares from a teenager’s alarm clock followed by an agitated smack of a hand. Everyday, students stumble into school stressed out and exhausted. High schools around the nation begin around seven in the morning causing students to fall asleep in classes. For years this has been occurring, but now it is time for change. All high schools should start later in the morning to improve the overall experience of schooling.

When one thinks of school, specifically high school, an image of sleepy and unfocused teens always come to mind. Throughout many centuries, schools have continued to start extremely early in the morning. In recent years, a small number of schools have pushed back their start time to follow experts’ suggestions, yet most schools continue to start at an average of eight in the morning. Around the globe, school boards have the responsibility of pushing back their start times to better the overall performance and effectiveness of their school. Although others dispute the fact that money for the participating schools would decrease and argue the amount of time for cut practices would not be substantial, cases have proved these claims false with positive results. By simply starting high school an hour or two later, teenagers would no longer battle with their biological processes. Along with a decrease in mental and sleep disorders due to this impactful change, financial and academic results would increase, while the rates of car crashes, absences, and injuries would decrease. School board members must push back school starting times to improve their school’s overall well-being (MacMillan).

Early school start times do not allow teenagers to get recommended amount of sleep. “The AASM recommends that teenagers should sleep 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night” (MacMillan). The lack of sleep can affect teenagers health and safety. Teenagers who are sleep-deprived are more likely to get injured. According to Dr. Mercola if you are sleep-deprived “your level of impairment is on par with

Many researchers admit for, “Teens who are returning to the routine of school… [waking up early] can be brutal”(Fenwick). With a later start time, test scores are improved and teens experience less car crashes as results. Many experts from the