Newtown High School buses pull up to the school every morning for their daily routine of watching the sunrise, some of them arriving too early to even be allowed in the building. These teenagers’ busy schedules include 6 hours of classes crammed in before 2:00 p.m., requiring some to wake up at 5:00-6:00 a.m. for preparation and commute.
Doctors across America recommend that high schools push back their start times to prevent sleep deficiencies in adolescents. NHS students and faculty believe that this could be a beneficial option for overall student health and happiness.
“I would get more sleep, therefore think clearer in class and be more focused,” NHS junior Isabel Campos said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that schools start no later than 8:30 a.m., which approximately 83 percent do not. In fact, 43 percent of public high schools start before 8:00 a.m. and 10 percent start before 7:30 a.m. creating major problems in teenagers’ sleep schedules.
The latest average school start time in the U.S. is 8:33 a.m. in Alaska. The earliest average state school start time is 7:40 a.m. in Louisiana. The first bell rings at 7:15 a.m. for NHS students.
Lack of sleep has proven to have multiple detrimental effects on health and development, especially in adolescents. Students who sleep for less than the recommended amount (8.5-9.5 hours) are more prone to depression, poor academic performance, substance abuse, lack of physical activity, obesity, and fatigue related car crashes.
“We see tired students who can’t get to class because they haven’t gotten enough sleep,” NHS school nurse Karen Powell said.
The solution seems simple- just make teenagers go to bed earlier. But adolescent biology does not favor this option. Teenagers release melatonin (a hormone that regulates sleep cycles) later than adults, and it’s natural for them to stay up until around 11 p.m.
“Teenagers are not wired to go to bed early and wake up early, they’re wired to go to bed late and wake up late,” Powell said.
Even just an extra hour in the morning can make an impact. Nauset High School in Eastham, Massachusetts, moved their 7:25 start time back to 8:35 and experienced an improvement in academic performance and a decline in suspensions, as well as a 30 percent drop in tardiness. A positive change in the students’ demeanor was also reported.
“It's very clear to me it's a more relaxed opening of school than with the 7:25 a.m. start time. Students seem to be more alert and they don't seem to be rushing to get to class within seconds of getting to school,” Nauset High School Principal Tom Conrad said in a recent Cape Cod Times article.
Although the issue of early openings has been discussed for years, there is not one clear cut solution to fix it all. There’s still the issue of after school activities, which would have to end even later at night, and the bus schedule, which would need to be completely rearranged.
“I think it’s fine, because it’d be hard to have sports and after school activities so late if school started any later,” NHS senior Sarah Lyon said.
Many school districts have switched the start times of their elementary and high schools, and others have delayed their opening times and moved certain extra-curricular activities to the morning rather than afternoon.
“That’s not a decision for the administrators, it is the district, because there are so many schools working in conjunction with each other with transportation and other initiatives that any time you change something you do not change it just in one building, it has a ripple effect,” NHS Assistant Principal Jaime Rivera said.
In the meantime, measures can be taken to reduce exhaustion even with an early school day. Maintaining a similar sleep schedule throughout school days and weekends alike will prevent problems falling asleep Sunday night, despite students’ urge to sleep in. Another strategy is implementing a “media-curfew”, or shutting off all stimulating technology a while before going to sleep. Avoiding an over-packed schedule can also lead to more time for sleep.
"One of the issues is that kids are over-scheduled,” sleep specialist Dr. Marcel Deray said in a recent CBS article. "Don't give them so many things to do that they can't get to bed before midnight."
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