Sleepless Nights and Wasted Days: Changing School Times to Benefit Stud

The alarm goes off at six am and the typical high school student is barely able to open their eyes. It is time to get up and prepare for a full day at school, about eight hours. Most teenagers, according to the National Sleep Foundation, will only get about six hours of sleep since they tend to stay up until midnight (â€Å"Should schools start later in the day?†). After getting ready, many students look forward to a nap in their first hour class despite the information they will miss. Teenagers seem to always have had trouble getting up in the morning, even earning the title of lazy from their parents. However, recent research on adolescent sleep patterns has produced a biological explanation for this tendency. This raises a serious question: why are high schools starting early in the morning when teenagers are biologically programmed to sleep in? For most cases, school start time has not been conformed to fit student physiological needs simply because of transportation iss ues. Fifty six percent of students report being tired throughout the school day, which can lead to missed information and confusion (Wysong). According to this statistic, over half the students in class are not going to achieve their maximum learning potential in school. In order to avoid this problem, a teenager's brain typically needs to sleep from 11:00 pm to 8:00 am (â€Å"High schools starting later to help sleepy teens†). However, most high schools require students to be in class as early as 7:15 or 7:30 am. As a result, many adolescents simply do not have the opportunity to get enough rest. Changing the traditional school time to start later in the day will benefit adolescent sleep cycles, promote learning, and prevent disease by regulating the body. Ideally,... ...n Context. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. Selley, Chris. "Go on, sleep in: Toronto schools mull shifting classes to 11:30 to help dozing students." Maclean's 19 Nov. 2007: 158. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. "Should Schools Start Later in the Day?" Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication 30 Apr. 1999: 3. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. "Sleep may reduce teens' Type 2 diabetes risk." The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation [CBC] 20 Sept. 2011. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. Wahlstrom, Kyla L.; Davison, Mark L.; Choi, Jiyoung; & Ross, Jesse N. (2001). School start time study: Executive summary. 2001. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. Wysong, Pippa. "School daze: turn your ZZZ's into A's." Current Health 2, a Weekly Reader publication Sept. 2007: 18+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 Mar. 2012.