Final Paper

            Too Little Sleep

                

                There is a lack of sleep in today’s society. This is especially true for adolescents having to wake up early for school in the morning.  Teens are constantly on the move with their busy schedules (studying, sports, work, etc) which causes them to stay up much later, and  according to an article by Michael J. Breus, PhD, teens are normally known to be “biologically driven…to these sleep-in, stay-up-late schedules” (PSY). With teens sleeping so late in the evening, and a staggering 86% of schools starting too early these individuals struggle constantly trying to keep themselves awake in their classes. School start times should become later because they affect these teens so negatively. Including some special points such as they don’t get enough sleep, lower learning in classes, and how lack of sleep affects adults and the future.

                Let’s begin with some research on how are future young adults are not healthy with these early morning wake up calls, and why the student’s quality of life should be important.  As teens go through their long, critical stage of puberty they are more prone to develop sleep deficiencies that get them deeper into something called sleep debt. Sleep debt is like any other debt, but instead of owing money the person owes hours of sleep to themselves if they don’t reach the essential amount of rest. Again according to psychologist Michael J. Breus, PhD, teenagers require more sleep than adults with teenagers needing roughly 9 hours of nightly sleep, compared to the general 7-8 hours for adults. With their busy schedules, the time the teen usually goes to sleep to when they wake up does not normally reach this necessary amount, and they quickly gain debts and experience exhaustion. It may overall cause a risk to one’s own health by developing unhealthy addictions, increase in reckless driving, and possible depression. A student’s welfare suffers from school starting early, and we need to realize that there quality of life is at the utmost importance because they define the future generations. A change in schedule can make a teenager healthier with extra time to sleep-in, and improve their quality of life.

            But wait, what about how academic success is affected by a lack of sleep? A brighter future is not without its pillars of a well learned education in schools. A principal by the name of Jayne Ellspermann once said "students come ready to learn...and take on the activities of the day”, so today’s society should see the importance of academic success among our future young leaders. When schools start too early, students suffer too many complications from trying to stay focused because they are too tired to retain the information being shared with them. Psychologists state that it impacts their “learning and academic performance as well as their behavior, and mood” throughout the day (PSY). Just a slight shift to a later start time can improve lack of sleep predicaments for students, and there is proof for it. Researchers by the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center studied 197 high-school students, and how the change in time would affect their overall performance. Normally this school began less than a quarter before 8 a.m., but when they adjusted the time to start about a half hour later the results were striking. The researchers concluded a 79% decrease of students sleeping less than 7 hours, and a 16% to 57% increase in students sleeping 8 or more hours nightly. The students experienced significant improvements to their “emotional and physical health, and their overall performance” at school during the day (PSY). This proves that there is a define line between how performance in school is partly affected by the amount of time students have to rest in the morning. Later starts times provide a clear window for an increase in student academic success.

            Now what about parents, and schools? In an online article from USA Today it stated that some may have a few concerns if later start times for adolescent schools were to come into effect (TED).  Administrators are worried that a later start time would mean revising the transportation system which could be very costly on schools, and could cause problems particularly with Elementary Schools when they begin nearly at the same time. There are also some who worry that later adjusted hours would put a back-lash on after school activities. Others who believe there would be an increase in traffic on the roads, and some parents who are concerned about their younger children (not adolescent) getting home if there only means of transportation was still at school, or work. Except maybe we need to look at it all in a different perspective. Elementary schools start later than High schools, but the children in the younger schools biologically (or told to) go to bed early, and therefore wake up earlier then there teenage peers. What if instead of having nocturnal adolescents waking early, we have the early-bird younger sleepers go to school around these early times, and having even their parents following the same system? Why not, as another USA Today article put it, we “flip” that system around, and have work end earlier for their parents (TEB)? With parents needing less sleep than adolescents, and children waking in the adolescents place both would have obtained the necessary amount of hours of sleep they needed to go about their day. While teens would be able to sleep-in, they will go to school feeling more refreshed instead of suffering from a late night’s of studying for their classes. Schools wouldn’t put such a strenuous impact on transportation costs, or their routed schedules, and after school activities would only have to make slight adjustments that wouldn’t have major consequences. Then once the parents are finished with work at an earlier time, there would be an earlier rush hour so traffic isn’t as bad after school, and they can pick up their children without feeling worried of their safety if they were let out before them. An earlier release gives parents more time to spend time with their families while still providing enough money to support the home front, and having extra time to sleep as well.  A simple switch up can remove the element of a restless night of sleep for everyone, and improve efficiency without eliminating too much time. Children become teens, and teens become adults, so we need them all to feel refreshed in the morning.

            In conclusion let’s remember everyone needs a certain amount of sleep to go about their day. We all wake up in the morning, but that does not mean we all get enough rest. As a congressmen once said "Over time, sleep deprivation leads to serious consequences for academic achievement, social behavior, and the health and safety of nations you" (SFO). Teenagers stay up later, and wake up later because that’s how nature created them. They are the future generation, so if they aren’t well rested enough now than they are not at their full potential to work efficiently, and end up hurting themselves physically, and emotionally. We can change that, and more. High schools can flip their schedules with Elementary school schedules to obtain extra time for sleeping-in, and for children to still obtain there necessary amount (10-11 hours) of sleep. They (the children) usually go to bed earlier anyway. In result schools wouldn’t have to spend much at all, and after school activities would be able to work with these slight adjustments without consequence. Of course this means the little ones would be coming out of school first, so parents should have their schedules to be set out earlier so that they could coincide with their child(s). This way parents would still be making the essential amount to support there family, have extra time to rest, and have their children safe at home. While teachers would be able to teach wide awake students, and have an increase in their students’ academic knowledge and success. That all being said there is no question that we all need sleep. A lack of sleep means a lack of progress in today’s society, so with slight adjustments we can all benefit from a well-rested night’s sleep. 

Work Cited

Sources:

1.) Breus, Michael J. “Is It Time to Start School Later?” Psychology Today. Sleep Newzzz, 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2015 (PSY)

2.) Velkoff, Ted. “Later Start Times Cost: Opposing View.” USA Today. Fairfax County School Board, 27 Aug. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2015 (TED)

3.) The Editorial Board. “More Sleep and a Later Opening Bell can Benefit Sleep-deprived Teens.” USA Today. 27 Aug, 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2015 (TEB)

4.) “Eight Major Obstacles to Delaying School Start Times.” National Sleep Foundation. Arlington, VA, 2015. Web. 28 Nov. 2015. (SFE)
5.) "School Start Time and Sleep" National Sleep Foundation. Arlington, VA. 2015. Web. 4. Dec. 2015 (SFO)

Note: Anything like (SFO) is just a label for which site it’s from. It is meant to prevent confusion.