Starting school later in the day benefits teens and allows them to get their eight hours of sleep increases grades, and promotes a healthier lifestyle. Researchers analyzed data from more than 9,000 students at eight high schools In Minnesota, Colorado, and Wyoming and found out that shifting the school day later in the morning resulted in a boost in attendance, test scores, and grades in math, English and science (Richmond,1). Schools also saw a decrease in tardiness, absences, and symptoms of depression. Some even had a dramatic drop in teen car crashes. The centers for disease control or (CDC) recommends that kids get nine to ten hours of sleep each night, kids who don’t get enough sleep have an increased risk of becoming overweight, depressed and even start struggling academically. Less than one third of US students, are getting 8 hours of sleep on a school night, and four out of five middle and high schools start their day before 8:30 a.m. a concern has emerged among health experts that this is simply too early. Starting the school day earlier may lead to more car accidents that involve students who drive daily to school.
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A study had shown that schools in two different cities from Virginia, that start at different times, found an association between earlier classes and more crashes among sleep-deprived students (Holohan, 1). Lack of sleep has a huge negative impact on teens. There is data that shows younger drivers that have inadequate sleep are more likely to have crashes rather than a student who has had eight or more hours of sleep. When teenagers were given an increased sleep time, crash rates dramatically declined 16.5%. Two cities in Virginia (Virginia beach and Chesapeake) have a 41% difference in teen crashes, the reason being that Virginia beach’s classes started at 7:20 AM and Chesapeake’s began at 8:40 AM. Chesapeake’s had 46.2 crashes for every 1,000 teen drivers, compared to 65.4 per 1,000 teen drivers in Virginia beach (Holohan, 2). Younger, inexperienced drivers don’t do well with impairments that affect their alertness such as having to get up earlier than what is natural for them. Starting school later in the day gives students more time to get ready in the morning, they are able to eat a healthy breakfast and can even help lower their stress. Students are stressed in the morning due to having to rush to school to get there on time. If school were to start later and end later it would end all of this. Students would get more sleep, would have a better breakfast, and would have time to review their studies which would eventually lead to better grades in class. When you’re in your teenage years, your body is undergoing the more important developmental phase. Sleep is critical during this period due to it aiding the body in its developmental process. Sleep has many important properties to it such as helping the consolidation of memories, which is a core part of learning. Being continually deprived of sleep can lower your immune system, which causes the body to start a process of degrading moods, which eventually affects the student’s behavior and relationships. The problem with school starting so early is that melatonin (a chemical released by your body, which induces sleep) is released in teenagers at a
A study had shown that schools in two different cities from Virginia, that start at different times, found an association between earlier classes and more crashes among sleep-deprived students (Holohan, 1). Lack of sleep has a huge negative impact on teens. There is data that shows younger drivers that have inadequate sleep are more likely to have crashes rather than a student who has had eight or more hours of sleep. When teenagers were given an increased sleep time, crash rates dramatically declined 16.5%. Two cities in Virginia (Virginia beach and Chesapeake) have a 41% difference in teen crashes, the reason being that Virginia beach’s classes started at 7:20 AM and Chesapeake’s began at 8:40 AM. Chesapeake’s had 46.2 crashes for every 1,000 teen drivers, compared to 65.4 per 1,000 teen drivers in Virginia beach (Holohan, 2). Younger, inexperienced drivers don’t do well with impairments that affect their alertness such as having to get up earlier than what is natural for them. Starting school later in the day gives students more time to get ready in the morning, they are able to eat a healthy breakfast and can even help lower their stress. Students are stressed in the morning due to having to rush to school to get there on time. If school were to start later and end later it would end all of this. Students would get more sleep, would have a better breakfast, and would have time to review their studies which would eventually lead to better grades in class. When you’re in your teenage years, your body is undergoing the more important developmental phase. Sleep is critical during this period due to it aiding the body in its developmental process. Sleep has many important properties to it such as helping the consolidation of memories, which is a core part of learning. Being continually deprived of sleep can lower your immune system, which causes the body to start a process of degrading moods, which eventually affects the student’s behavior and relationships. The problem with school starting so early is that melatonin (a chemical released by your body, which induces sleep) is released in teenagers at a