Wilcox 1

Isis Wilcox

Mrs. Cramer

Comp pd. 1

20 April 2017

Rise and Shine

Beep! Beep! Beep!1 The sound of an alarm clock screaming would pressure anyone to get

up and start the day, but for some it may be harder than for others.2 Students seem to stagger into

class with half the amount of sleep they would need to fulfill a school day. Some students are late

while others decide to not come at all. "A National Sleep Foundation panel concluded last year

that adolescents need eight to 10 hours of sleep a night, yet nearly two-thirds of 17-year olds

report sleeping less than seven hours a night, according to a policy statement from the American

Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2014." (Weintraub). With this being said, it is easy to say that

implementing later school starting times would be effective. For many schools the start times

executed are earlier in the morning. "The average start time across the U.S. is 8:03 a.m. In some

states, 75 percent to 100 percent of schools start before 8:30." (Weintraub). Starting school at a

later time would increase student performance, decrease the chance of a car crash, improve

family relationships, and increase overall well-being.

To begin, later school start times would expand academic performance. When a student

wakes up in the morning feeling sleep deprived, how can they be expected to reach their full

potential? Often students fall asleep during class due to the lack of sleep obtained the night

before, resulting in loss of class time and decrease of academic performance. "Lack of sleep, in

1 Onamonapia This repetition of the word beep imitates the action of an alarm clock.

2 Personification Giving human like qualities to an alarm clock, as in screaming.

turn, can interfere with learning. A 1996 survey of research studies found substantial evidence

that less sleep is associated with a decrease in cognitive performance, both in laboratory settings

and through self-reported sleep habits. Researchers have like-wise reported a negative correlation

between self-reported hours of sleep and school grades among both middle-and high-school

students." (Edwards).

Also, starting school later in the day would also decrease the chance of students getting

into an accident before school. "Benefits observed from later high school start times include a

decrease in student-involved car accidents." (Later). As terrifying as it is, car crashes do happen

and they are more likely to happen to a young driver or a tired driver. When you mix a newly

licensed driver with being tired it may result in a crash. "Pushing back school start times by 75

minutes yields as much as 50 more minutes of sleep for the average middle schooler, according

to a study of 205 students by psychologist Amy R. Wolfson, PHD, in Behavioral Sleep Medicine,

and - depending on the study and the amount of delay 15 to 45 minutes extra sleep for the

average high schooler." (Weintraub). Weintraub stated that the added sleep can have profound

benefits; In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the teen car crashes fell 70 percent after the shift in start

times. Shifting the start times later would benefit the safety of students as well as the civilians

driving among them.

Next, one of the profound issues administrators and parents face when it comes to

delaying school start times, is the effect it would have on the younger children. Pre-K to sixth

grade is usually considered elementary. During this age the students do not need as much sleep

compared to middle schoolers or high schoolers. If all the school times were delayed then this

would cause some issues for faculty and parents. "Principles at Later-starting elementary schools

have appeared at the board's past three meetings to describe what they see as the fallout. Several
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talked about children being dropped off at school overly early by parents who need to get to

work." (St. George). This may raise red flags for some, but there are numerous schools providing

a sort of day care before and after school. Also, if this was such a notable problem then the

school board could simply implement a schedule where the younger children report to school

earlier than the older students.

Adding on to my previous statement, delaying the school start time would improve

family relationships. Sometimes when a teen feels as tired as an old man, they become cranky. 3

Dealing with a teen is hard as it is but, when you add the drowsiness, it can be even more

difficult for the parents. Elise Browne Hughes, a parent and PTA leader said that her teenager has

always found it strenuous to wake up in the mornings. She was skeptical about how the 20

minute shift would work but after seeing how it has dramatically improved her sons mornings

she said it made a difference.

Also, later school start times would increase the mental well-being of the students. Being

a teen can be stressful at times and if an extra thirty minutes could be implemented, then it would

help a teens overall mental health. "Adolescents who get less sleep than they need are at higher

risk for depression, suicide, substance abuse, and car crashes. They dont perform as well in

school. Evidence also links short sleep duration with obesity and a weakened immune system."

(Weintraub). If you add just a few more minutes of sleep into a teens schedule they will be less at

risk.

Lastly, countless people would argue that if a student needed more sleep then they should

just go to bed earlier. "Teens are notorious night owls generally, they go to bed late in the

evening and, when given the opportunity, wake up late in the morning." (Later). Going to bed

3 Simile Comparing how a sleepy teenager feels to an old man using like or as.
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early seems like a logical way to tackle the lack of sleep these teens receive but it is not that

simple. "Mary A. Carskadon, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown

University, was the first to show that as kids go through puberty, their circadian rhythms change,

making it easier for them to stay up later. In contrast with children, whose circadian rhythms

push them to fall asleep early- to mid- evening, adolescents' sleep drive doesn't kick in until later

in the evening."(Weintraub). Also, when you add sports, work, homework, and clubs into the

daily routine of a teen it is even harder to find the time to do it all and still get a good amount of

sleep. "Activities such as sports and work, along with family and social schedules, may make it

difficult for students to adjust the time they go to bed. In addition, the onset of puberty brings

two factors that can make this adjustment particularly difficult for adolescents: an increase in the

amount of sleep needed and a change in the natural timing of the sleep cycle. Hormonal changes,

in particular, the secretion of melatonin, shift the natural circadian rhythm for adolescents,

making it increasingly difficult for them to fall asleep early in the evening." (Weintraub). Will

you support the later school start times or hit the snooze button?

All things considered it is obvious that every teenager would benefit from a later starting

school schedule. Later school start times would increase student performance, decrease the

chance of a motor vehicle crash, improve family relationships, and increase overall well-being. It

has been argued that it would affect the younger children's schedules and the teens could just go

to bed earlier, but as stated earlier there is evidence to back up those arguments. "While

implementation may be complex, particularly when a change would bring a school's schedule out

of sync with neighboring systems, delaying school start times so that adolescents begin their

instructional day later provides numerous benefits to the students and their broader community

alike." (Later).
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Works Cited

Edwards, Finley. "Do schools begin too early? The effect of start times on student achievement."
Education Next 12.3 (2012): 52+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.
"Later School Start Times Promote Adolescent Well-Being." American Psychological
Association. Web. 13 March 2017
St. George, Donna. "Debate over school start times flare anew".The Washington Post. 1 January
2017. Web. 13 March 2017.
Weintraub, Karen. "Young and sleep deprived." American Psychological Association. February
2016. Web. 13 March 2017.