School hours can affect our biological clocks, which can make learning hard for students and affect their mood negatively. Teenagers are the most likely to suffer from sleep deprivation. The recommended amount of sleep is nine and a half hours, while teens on average get about seven.
Starting school early in the morning prevents students from getting a full night’s sleep, which can affect their health, safety, and academic performance. A later start time may lead to better success in school and could also improve test scores.
Over the years, there has been an ongoing debate about how early in the morning school should begin. Many school systems have performed studies and report that students are not getting enough sleep and feel exhausted during school. According to facts from startschoollater.net, an organization composed of educators and doctors, insufficient sleep can be linked directly with obesity, migraines, and immune system issues. It can also be linked to health risk behaviors including smoking, drinking, stimulant abuse, physical fighting, physical inactivity, depression, and suicidal tendencies.
Many students at Coventry High School feel emotionally and physically exhausted, even when they get a full night’s sleep. “It’s hard to stay awake because I feel so drained and tired all the time, I’ve fallen asleep during a class before from being so tired”, says Annabella Rosa, a Sophomore at Coventry High. What makes students drowsy during school? School hours can affect our biological clocks, which can make learning hard for students and affect their mood negatively. Teenagers are the most likely to suffer from sleep deprivation. The recommended amount of sleep is nine and a half hours, while teens on average get about seven.
About 82% of high schools and middle schools have start times that are earlier than the time suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and American Medical Association. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, middle and high schools should start classes no earlier than 8:30 a.m..
According to one study at Jackson Hole High School in Wyoming, the school start time was delayed until 8:55 in the morning. This resulted in a 70% drop in car crashes involving teenage drivers. Additionally, a delay in school start time can also lead to a better standardized test scores. Results from a study indicate that a one-hour delay in start time increases standardized test scores on both math and reading tests by about three percentile points. Michael O’Connell, a junior at Coventry High says, “I would say that a test is easier to take later on in the day, because you have more energy and you’re not sleepy, which makes it easier to understand information.”
Although there are an abundance of reasons to start school later, some may argue that there are negative affects to starting school later. The later start time could cause an issue for the bus schedule. For example, if the same bus driver picked up elementary and high school students, then the start time would have to change the start time of both high school and elementary schools. Another argument is that the delay in start time could affect students who participate in after school activities. Since most after school activities last for several hours, it would mean that a later start time would keep the students after school for much later. This could cause a difficulty in finishing homework, and still go to bed at a decent hour. But, do the benefits outweigh the negatives?
Recent Comments