Voorhees Middle School Case Study

This article by the National Sleep Foundation describes how adolescents today are not getting the recommended amount of sleep and in return do not perform appropriately or at their maximum level at school. Through different scientific studies it was discovered that adolescent NATURALLY fall asleep at 11 P.M. or later. One study looked at the melatonin secretion in patients and how it occurred later at night in adolescents. Through research the National Sleep Foundation has urged schools to synchronize school clock with student body clocks (If teens naturally fall asleep at 11 P.M. and require 9.5 hours of sleep, school should start approximately at 9:00-10:00 A.M., 1 to 3 hours after current SC school start times). This sources supports my claim to start school later and provides support research about the negative aspects of sleep deprivation in adolescents and the importance of reforming school start times

Students need a good amount of sleep to be able to focus and get through the school day. Students ability to function during school is impacted by the quantity, regularity, and quality if their sleep (Wolfson 1). The quality of sleep is not only important for the students but it is also important for the teachers. The quality of sleep affects the way students and teachers act throughout the day. Daytime sleepiness and poor sleep quality on school days in students and teachers may comprise school and work performance (De Souza 5). Since students and teachers stay up so late at night, they tend to be very tired during the day. It is important to get sleep but it is more important to get a good sleep. There is not really a point in sleeping or trying to get sleep when it is not a good sleep because no matter what students will be tired during the day. While the quality of sleep is important, so is the amount of sleep a student or teacher is getting on school nights.

As a result of a changing body and mind, adolescent sleep cycles have different needs than those of adults or younger children. As a matter of fact, Biologically, 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 11:00 pm (“Teens”). In addition to biological change in sleep patterns, teenagers also tend to have eccentric sleep cycles. Obtaining less than healthy hours of sleep during the school week and then catching up on their sleep on the weekends. Most teenagers during the school week, do not get the suggested amount of sleep. In fact, according to a recent poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, 80% of teenagers do not get the suggested amount of sleep of 9 hours on school nights (“School Start”). With changing bodies and minds, along with an increased amount of schoolwork and extracurricular activities, teenagers need more sleep than children of a younger age. Experts believe that moving back the start time of school for high school students will improve grades, test scores, and the overall health and personality of many students.

Adolescents today face a widespread chronic health problem: sleep deprivation. Research shows that getting enough sleep is a biological necessity. Sleep is essential for a person’s health and wellbeing, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Teens are among those least likely to get enough sleep; while they need on average 9 1/4 hours of sleep per night for optimal performance and health and brain development, teens average fewer than 7 hours per school night, and most report feeling tired during the day (Nationwide Childrens, 2003). The root of the problem is early school start times.

To conclude, we can see how not only does more sleep make us prepared and more focused for the school day, but how it also affects our positive sleeping patterns, our ability to learn, and the amount of stress that our bodies receive. We see how many liable resources were used to conclude that sleep truly is one of the most important factors in a student's everyday life and supports the idea that school should begin later for the most positive results. Starting school later will truly minimize bad sleep patterns and habits, increase the amount of learning and lastly, put less stress on our minds and

With early school start times, students tend not to have enough sleep. National Sleep Foundation and American Academy of Pediatrics recommend an eight to ten-hour sleep, which is sufficient. However, 69 percent of the students in the United States sleep less than eight hours per night, which is insufficient. It affects students negatively through health, behaviors, and grades. The lack of sleep promotes students to become sleepy, defenseless, and lead to the inability to concentrate, which may cause injuries and lack of knowledge in school. This dilemma has been around for years and years in the United States. Schools should start later to avoid this dilemma because it provides students with more time to sleep and an efficient work-and-rest

In many districts, elementary and high schools start classes at about the same time each day. However, the students that attend these schools have very different sleep needs because they are at different stages in their development. Scientific research has shown that high schools should start classes later to address the major problems created by sleep deprivation among teenagers. By doing so, the health and learning abilities of adolescents would greatly improve.

Studies by the National Sleep Foundation have shown that teenagers lose up to two hours of sleep per night during the school year. A big component of sleep loss is a direct result of the early start times for high school. Between after school sports, work, and homework the average teen does not make it to bed before 11p.m. Adolescents then proceed to wake up before 6:30 a.m. to make it to school on time leaving them with an insufficient amount of sleep. Many fatigued teenagers then come to school and easily miss out on learning. School officials have presented a variety of solutions to school boards to increase student alertness during school hours. One reasonable solution that would be an easy fix to the problem is switching high school and elementary schools’ start times to decrease drowsiness of high schoolers in morning classes.

Almost every day high school students are waking up around six o’clock in the morning to get ready for school, some even earlier than that. Nearly every morning students are waking up without adequate sleep. If sleep is one of the most essential needs of the body in order to grow and develop, shouldn’t we be more aware of how much it affects students everyday performance? The ways in which students are affected by sleep-deprivation is precisely why school needs to start later.

Approximately eighty percent of respondents from “Sleep in America poll” said high school start times should start no earlier than 8:00 A.M. (“School Start Times and Sleep”). Many teens face the natural struggle of not being able to sleep at night. Sleep is a very important part of life and it’s even more essential for teenagers because the body performs key functions while asleep. The lack of sleep in teens is impacting them negatively by not allowing their brains to function to their full potential causing poor eating habits resulting in obesity and diabetes, poor performance in academics, and car accidents.

Students are the adults of tomorrow, yet policy-makers keep denying them the amount of sleep necessary for them to have a good overall health. As a recent graduate from high school, I can personally testify that I did not get anywhere near the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep. Between numerous afterschool activities I participated in, such as sports teams and clubs, doing homework, practicing musical instruments and still having to go to zero-period classes; class that starts at 7:30, I would be lucky if I got 6 hours of sleep. Poor time-management skills contributed to my lack of sleep, but having classes that starts at 7:30 to begin with is beyond me. For teenagers to wake up so early is literally defying the way their biological clocks are designed and can cause several health conflicts both physically and mentally that can all result in the consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. In this essay, I will be talking about the history of sleep science, the several harmful effects due to lack of sleep, then the benefits of getting sufficient sleep and finally, propose a short-term and long-term solution to help high school students receive the necessary 8-10 hours of sleep.

Waking up early, going to school for 7 hours, extracurricular activities, homework, going to sleep late at night, and repeat. Day in and day out students go through a tough daily cycle. The stress for students adds up to an overwhelming number when they don’t get enough sleep. Schools realize this problem and yet, they don’t do anything about it. Still, school seems to be interfering with students’ sleep schedules. Extensive research has been done to prove that sleep is essential for students of all ages, and it can affect the function of the human body. School has been taking over sleep time and causing a lot of stress on students. Combining homework and other after school activities, some students do not have much free time or sleep time. A lack of sleep is causing some students to lose trust in people and have potential suicidal thoughts. Losing sleep is a major disrupt to our health; this issue should be resolved by letting students sleep longer before school each morning.

Most high school students are sitting in their first period class by 8:00 am each weekday morning. While some students may be eager to go, many are struggling to stay awake and alert. In fact, “survey evidence shows that over a quarter of high school students report falling asleep in class at least once per week” (National Sleep Foundation 2017). As parents and administrators look for ways to improve student academic achievement, some question whether early start times are getting in the way of the learning process for teenagers. Sleep research supports this notion, finding that many adolescents are sleep-deprived because of both early school start times and changing sleep patterns during the teen years. Schools should do what is best for students and change the start times to benefit everyone.

Schools should consider starting at a later time in the morning so students can get plenty of sleep at night. According to a high school student who was interviewed in the article, Snooze… Or Lose!: 10 ‘No-War’ Ways to Improve Your Teen’s Sleep Habits,

On some school nights, I have a rough time trying to fall asleep even though I manage to go to bed early. I twist and turn and eventually pass out at one in the morning. Few hours later, I wake up and experience headaches and stress at home, then a difficult time paying attention and processing information in class. All of these factors were resulted by the lack of sleep, or sleep deprivation. Many more harmful problems can result from sleep deprivation, such as sleep disorders, difficulty driving, and physical and mental effects on students. In which case, students wouldn’t want sleep deprivation affecting their academic grades and education in school. Therefore, students in high school should be allowed to sleep for a longer period of