BY MELANIE SMITH AND CALEB NEALE
Students trudge into the hallways of schools throughout the country. Some clutch a Starbucks drink and a textbook, while others accept the inevitable and nod off in their oversized hoodies. Many adults feel that the quintessential teenager is lazy and unmotivated, justifying why they frequently sleep during the day. However, many neglect to acknowledge the long, challenging days that teenagers experience. School start times and rigorous course schedules prevent students from obtaining the necessary sleep required to maintain their physical and mental health.
There are only 24 hours in a day, and 8 of those hours are spent at school (including class and transportation). Students must also allocate ample time to get ready: about 1 hour, leaving 15 hours left in the day. Furthermore, many students participate in extracurricular activities such as athletics, jobs, volunteer service, clubs, religious organizations, etc, for an average of 3 hours. Cumulatively, classes generally require about 3 hours of homework nightly, and another hour must be allotted to eating dinner. This leaves only 8 hours for socializing, leisure time, and sleeping. According to cardiologist David E. Montgomery, MD, teenagers require at least 9 hours of sleep each night, far more than the average 6-8 hours that most students receive. Time management is important for a student’s success, but there has to be time to manage.
The majority of animals, ourselves included, possess what is called a circadian rhythm. This is essentially an “internal clock” that controls an organism’s sleep patterns. It is responsible for “jet lag,” which is the delay of the circadian rhythm adjusting to a time change. Age differences can also affect such a biological process, as adolescents have difficulty falling asleep earlier in the day. Despite this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report 75% of public schools in America start before 8:30 a.m. Thus, to attend schools, students must contradict their very nature by going to sleep at a time that their bodies might recognize as the middle of the day.
School is designed to intellectually stimulate students’ brains and to teach them useful information and skills necessary for secondary education later in life. This fundamental purpose is impeded when a student comes to school exhausted, which happens way too often. Students who received less than the recommended hours of sleep can exhibit mood swings and have trouble focusing, leading to trouble learning in the classroom. Data from more than 9,000 students at eight high schools in Minnesota, Colorado, and Wyoming showed that delaying the start time of school resulted in a boost in attendance, test scores, and grades in math, English, science, and social studies. If a child is not mentally engaged in their education, then they might as well be at home.
Teenagers around the country aren’t receiving the amount of sleep they need, affecting more areas than academics. The Harvard University Division of Sleep Medicine lists increased risk of obesity, diabetes, Heart Disease, and Hypertension, mood disorders, immune deficiency, alcohol use and shorter life expectancy as symptoms of insufficient sleep. Schools with earlier start times also tend to have higher rates of tardiness, substance abuse, and symptoms of depression. Some schools even showed a dramatic increase in teen car crashes. Falling asleep in class is the source of stress for a lot of students, as it can result it missing crucial parts of a lesson and rebuke from an instructor. Unfortunately, students can not help it.
Many worry about how catering to adolescent sleep needs will affect the protocols already in place: such as school buses, budgets, or other afterschool activities. With enough creativity and flexibility, these protocols can be accommodated and end up benefiting everyone involved. In a world where obesity and mental disorders are on the rise and academic performance is on the fall, it is vital that every measure is taken in order to nurture the world’s next generation of minds.
