Why We Should Be Shorter School Too Long

Adolescents and adults need around 9 hours of sleep daily (De Souza 5). Since schools are starting so early, they can not get the needed sleep time, eight to nine hours. Even though teachers go to school the same time as students, consequences are worse in students and it seems to have more of a critical effect on students. No matter if it is a student or a teacher, the quality of sleep is very important for everybody.

It is a well known fact that teenagers in general need more sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation: “[teenage sleep] is as important as the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat. It can even help you to eat better and manage stress of being a teen.” When schools start as early as 7 o’clock, it puts students health at risk. Adolescents already have a natural shift in their internal body clock, or circadian rhythm when it comes to sleep. Puberty allows this to happen, causing a “sleep phase delay” of about two hours. When teens can't fall asleep until late and school starts so early, they aren't getting nearly enough sleep. Lack of such, according to CDC, makes the individual

Imagine: a world where a biological necessity is not seen as a priority, and adolescent’s educations are suffering. This is how schools’ think about sleep.What all human beings need to survive is being put on the back burner by most schools in America- sleep(11a). It has been proven through the process of scientific research that sleep is necessary on the same level as food or activity. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation is a chronic health problem that many youths suffer from today. Teens are naturally predisposed to go to sleep around 11 pm, but are forced to wake up around 6:15, not allowing any time for adequate sleep (“Backgrounder: Later school start Times” 1). Irregular sleep patterns during teenage years can cause long-term

Lack of sleep can lead teenagers to gain weight, become depressed or engage in risky activities (i.e. drugs, alcohol) and can lead to poor school performance overall (CDC). These consequences are not the only problem with teenagers losing sleep because of school work. During teenage years, an individual’s biological clock causes them to want to go to sleep later in the morning due to various hormones in their bodies. Students aren’t naturally supposed to wake up early, yet in 42 states the majority of school’s start before 8:30 A.M (CDC), but

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.

Students,especially students who drive to and from school are also at risk of more car crashes because of sleep deprivation. Additionally getting good sleep is important to maintaining good health,staying awake and alert, and working at peak performance. Although students can simply sleep earlier, many need that time to study and complete homework, with a later start time students can get their homework down and get a sufficient amount of sleep.”According to this research, the ideal amount of sleep for the average teenager falls between 8.5 and 9.5 hours a night, and teenagers who receive adequate sleep benefit from better physical and mental health, safety, and academic performance. It also revealed that puberty causes a “phase delay” in teenagers, which shifts the time that teenagers fall asleep back by two

School districts expect us to wake up half an hour after the crack of dawn, go to school and while groggy and sleep deprived, and still expect us to surrender our full attention in each and every one of our 6 periods. Sending sleep-deprived teenagers to school as early as 5:30 is dangerously unhealthy, unsafe, and evidently counterproductive. According to the American Academy ofPediatrics, without receiving the appropriate amount of sleep teenagers find it 60% harder to focus in class. Lack of sleep can lead to excessive fatigue, emotional distress, laziness, obesity and a lowered perception of quality of

Only about fifteen percent of teens obtain the preferred eight hours of sleep they need to function properly (Neuroscience for Kids, 2010). Sixty percent of teens say that they are “tired” and fifteen percent fall asleep in class (School and Sleep Times, 2011). This shows that high schoolers are not getting

When people have six or fewer hours of sleep, their brains do not function at maximum potential as someone who received seven to eight hours. An article written by Tisha Wang from UCLA reveals that behavioral alertness significantly decreases from the lack of at least seven hours of sleep. Other results caused by the lack of adequate sleep are short term memory problems and impaired attention. If schools were to shift their schedules, students and teachers would not have to stress as much about getting sufficient sleep because schools will begin at later times. Boosts in cognitive function, engaged students, and productivity are all benefits provided by the shifting in school schedules.

Students aren’t getting enough sleep. “Two thirds of High School students get less than seven hours of sleep”(Wake Up Calls); the recommended hours of sleep for teens is 8-9 hours. I personally don’t think I get enough of sleep each night, and I do think pushing back the time school starts can make a big positive impact on my sleeping

If students come to school with their brain’s not fully functioning yet because of the lack of sleep they had gotten, it would be extremely difficult to do any work. This can lead to low test scores and an impact on their grades and scores. In Source A, Nancy Shute states, “We truly believe that our teenagers are getting six to seven hours of sleep a night, and they need eight to 10.” (page 1). Many teens aren’t getting the full sleep that they need. Instead they are losing three to four hours of sleep. This amount of lack of sleep can cause student’s to be tired while they are at school. Although there have been many reports insisting that teens should be getting eight to ten hours of sleep, only 15 percent of high schools have embraced the change and made their school start at 8:30 or later. Even worse the percentage of high schools that are starting before 8 a.m. is 40 percent. Some may argue their point that middle and high schoolers can sleep at an earlier time to gain the sleep they lose, but pediatricians say that as children become teenagers their sleep-wake cycle changes. According to Source A, Nancy Shute states, “As children become teenagers, their sleep-wake cycle shifts two hours late, so it’s

But we simply do not have enough time in the day. Some students don’t get home to almost seven after sports are done, some have jobs and don’t get home until seven o’clock… Before we know it, its eight o’clock and we still have three hours of homework to do. Going to sleep at eleven and waking up at six is not enough sleep for students. Because of all the work we receive in school, we need more time to sleep and make sure our mind set is in the right place. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, if you don’t get enough sleep your brain will not absorb information you learn.

Schools that start before 8 a.m. are a major reason students aren’t getting adequate sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation teenagers need on average 8 ½ - 9 ½ hours of sleep a night(Schute, Nancy). Realistically students rarely get that much sleep. When students don’t get adequate sleep it has the ability to affect their attention span, memory, problem-solving ability, and mood(Rosenberg, Russell). Are these students actually expected to pay attention, learn, solve problems, and have an acceptable attitude when they wake up sleep deprived? With a sleep cycle that changes once students hit puberty and an increase in the production of melatonin its nearly impossible for teens to fall asleep before 10:30 p.m.(Edwards, Finley). In my own experience I don’t even get tired until around 11:30 p.m. and barely fall asleep before 12, so it makes it extremely difficult to wake up at 6 a.m. and get ready for the day.

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?

Should school years be longer? No, they shouldn’t and there are many reasons for this. Some are the following: it doesn’t have links to school improvements, would cost more, won’t fix problems, and disrupts family life.