Why School Days Should Start Later

As a student advances through school, they tend to have much more on their hands such as a job, social life, family, and homework. The demand of time from students’ hectic lives makes it difficult to fit in adequate sleep. The only way to complete everything on their agenda is to sacrifice some of their nightly sleep, thus becoming chronically sleep deprived. Students who are sleep deprived or receive less than the recommended amount of seven hours of sleep daily, are less likely to succeed academically because it slows down cognitive performance and impairs memory, which affects a student’s ability to learn.

Bryant, N. B., & Gómez, R. L. (2015). The teen sleep loss epidemic: What can be done? Transla-tional Issues in Psychological Science, 1(1), 116-125. doi:10.1037/tps0000020

Do you think school starts too early? Well, according to recent studies, you’re right! There is lots of data that shows that teenagers aren’t getting enough sleep at night. In fact, according to data from The National Sleep Foundation says 87% of high schoolers don't the recommended amount for someone their age. With lack of sleep comes many negative consequences. If they don’t get enough sleep it can result in health problems, have negative effects on academic performance and increase reliance on drugs, alcohol, and caffeine. Let’s review the problems with schools starting later, the negative effects that sleep loss has on teens, the benefits of getting enough sleep and the setbacks of later start times for schools.

When students have to get up early for school it creates many problems, including not being awake in their first couple periods. According to Dr. Judith A. Owens when students get less sleep it can cause chronic sleep loss. “A substantial body of research has now demonstrated that delaying school start times is an effective countermeasure to chronic sleep loss and has a wide range of potential benefits to students with regard to physical and mental health, safety, and academic achievement”(1).This quote shows how there are many problems that can happen when students don’t get enough sleep at

Sleep is as essential to people as food and water. It is what recharges us after a long day, and gives our bodies a chance to heal and grow. So why don’t teenagers get enough of it? Teenagers today are faced with this devastating problem, called sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is when a person does not get enough sleep, which can rapidly lead to deadly health effects (Pietrangelo 1). This problem is serious, especially for adolescents, and should be addressed in an environment where teens feel fine with facing the severity of the issue. The most pressing teenage issue today that Dearborn Public Schools should address in the classroom is sleep deprivation since sleep deprivation causes lifelong mental health issues, it creates severe physical health problems,

The purpose of this research is to explore the sleep deprivation epidemic currently affecting teenagers across the country. A study was conducted through the use of survey research on a group of students at Knightdale High School of Collaborative Design which asked questions regarding their current sleeping habits, and its affect on their academic performance. Questions considering other outside factors contributing to the lack of sleep of students were also included. 271 students participated in the survey spanning grade levels 9 to 12. The results of the study were that the majority of the students did not get the widely recommended 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night for teenagers, and the majority of those who did not also believed that

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.

It is estimated that only 15 percent actually get these amounts (Kids Suffer from Sleep Deprivation). This is particularly important for students who wish to do well in school. Dr. Carl Hunt, the director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, is spearheading a sleep campaign. Her philosophy is, “Sleep well, do well.” This is something that shouldn’t be taken to lightly. Sleep problems effect about 70 million Americans of all ages. Teens often have problems with daytime sleepiness. The old idea of early to bed, early to rise isn’t necessarily the best answer. Society is simply asking to much of teens (Sleep experts to teens). A combination of school, work, study and leisure, leaves very little time left for sleep. Being deprived of sleep definitely has an effect on how well students do in school and may be putting their health at risk. College students who stay up all night to study for a test or write a big paper that’s due often have no choice because of the pressures to do well and succeed, but at what price do they pay?

A big reason school’s may enjoy having a later start time, is because it can contribute to the school’s success. A later start time can improve the school’s overall test scores (Why We Must - and Can - Restore Safe & Healthy School Hours). Students can learn their best when they are not tired or drowsy. The School Start Later — Healthy Hours campaign stated that, “Academic improvements have been shown, and overall school climate has been measurably improved when high schools have restored later start times,” (Why We Must - and Can - Restore Safe & Healthy School Hours). The sleep researcher mentioned earlier, Wendy Troxel, said in her presentation that when kid’s are woken up by an alarm, they are literally robbed of their dreams. Dreams are associated with learning development. In order for student’s to use the most of their brains, they need to be receiving the right amount of good quality sleep. Not only do test scores rise, but so does the graduation rate, which is a major problem in today’s generation (Why We Must - and Can - Restore Safe & Healthy School Hours). In contribution to the student success, later start times could drastically improve the school’s success. Later start times have increased attendance around

Adolescents don’t choose to stay up late; they do know the consequences of being tired the next day. “The starting time of school puts limits on the time available for sleep, this is a nonnegotiable limit established largely without concern

According to the National Sleep Foundation, fifty percent of American teenagers are not getting the sleep needed to have a healthy, and productive school year. Although, going to sleep at a proper time is a personal choice, there are many factors that can play a role in preventing teenagers from getting the suggested nine and a half hours of sleep every single night, including weekends. In my opinion too many teens resort to, hanging out with friends, working or staying up late to do school work, instead of going to sleep at a proper time. Natural physical body changes are also reasons of lost sleep in adolescents. This essay will discuss what sleep is, the many reasons why teenagers lose sleep, and ways to get better sleep. (NSF)

To begin, the majority of high school students do not get sufficient sleep each night. As a result, they do not receive the necessary benefits of sleep which include learning, problem-solving skills, and other advantageous aspects in school (“Why is Sleep Important?”). According to a study done by the National Sleep Foundation, only ten percent of students ages fifteen to seventeen averaged nine or more hours of sleep each night, even though it is suggested that adolescents receive around nine and a quarter hours of sleep (“Later School Start…”). Clearly, this leaves ninety percent of students who are not reaching an adequate amount of sleep each night and therefore, not receiving the complete benefits of school. In opposition, some may argue that students can make the choice to go to bed earlier during the school year, but instead choose to stay up

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).

In their essay, “Sleep Deprivation in Adolescents and Young Adults,” the National Adolescent Health Information Center (NAHIC) provides causes and solutions for the lack of sleep in adolescents and young adults. Drawing facts and studies from all over the world pertaining to sleep deprivation in teenagers, the NAHIC describes why the majority of teenagers suffers from lack of sleep and gives different solutions to the problem that is so prevalent in America’s educational society. Some solutions to this ever-present problem, include later start times for schools and informational packets to give to teenagers about sleep hygiene. The NAHIC argues that one of the biggest problems of sleep deprivation in teenagers is the lack of education that teenagers receive about sleep hygiene. In their opinion and based off of the studies that the NAHIC provided, once teenagers and young adults start to get the information about sleep that they need, the majority of them will start to change the way they approach the topic of sleep, and they end up getting the full recommended night of sleep. In a study, In Shape - a healthy lifestyle advocate program - gave over 300 college students an intervention about sleep, stress, management, healthy eating, and more positive changes that a young adult can make in their life. Three months later, the college students show an increase in the duration of their sleep along with other health resorts (Werch, Moore, and Bian). In sum, the NAHIC argues that

Today 70% of teens are not receiving enough sleep (Wallace). In our nation today people of all ages are heavily affected when they do not receive enough sleep. This mostly affects teenagers though because of early start time in schools. The education system in the United States needs to create a later start time as a whole because early start times are causing students to not be as successful as they could be. We need to change this because the start times are negatively affecting a teen’s behavior, grades, and safety. There are many biological reasons why teens need to have the start time changed in order for their brains to function properly. However though some people are failing to move beyond the struggles of a later start time such as transportation and after school activities. On the other hand though many schools are looking past these flaws and finding a way to switch their start times in order to help their students succeed.