Does Sleep Deprivation Affect Students To Start School Later?

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Many parents recall times when they had to pound on their children’s doors or go so far as to drag them out of bed when it was time to get ready for school. While most people chuckle when they hear these stories, the reason behind them isn’t so funny. Many adolescents actually experience sleep deprivation due to early school start times. Some adolescents have to wake up at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning just to catch the bus and make it to school on time. During a time when the body needs more than eight hours of sleep each night, ongoing sleep deprivation can have serious physical effects.

Early school times affect students mental, physical, and emotional health. According to Start School Later, “Kids who are tired can't learn at their best, …show more content…

You get very tired during the day, causing you to sleep during the day. In most cases in teens, the day happens to be during school. Lisa Lewis states, “And the effects of that deprivation may show up in their grades; about 30% of students report falling asleep in class at least once a week, and studies consistently connect less sleep with lower grades in school and on standardized tests. Students who don’t get the recommended amount of sleep also tend to have higher rates of anxiety and mood disorders, including depressive symptoms.” This quote means the more sleep deprived a child is, the more sleep they will need. This means, when they are in the class they consider boring, they will get as much sleep as possible. This is not their fault. Sleep deprivation causes stress, anxiety, and huge waves of …show more content…

This can lead to negative consequences that may lead to a larger problem. According to Leigh Ann Morgan, “If a teen exhibits the symptoms of depression, it may be worth tracking his or her sleep pattern to determine if sleep deprivation is responsible for irritability, anxiety or other related symptoms.” Morgan says sleep deprivation can lead to “irritability, anxiety, or other related symptoms.” This means sleep deprivation causes stress, which can lead to fatigue in stressful environments such as school, it causes anxiety, which can lead to high stress rates, and irritability, which can lead to a more severe situation. All of these lead to negative consequences, and even lead to elevated situations including disrespect. This all affects the school environment, and leads to believe schools are hurting themselves.
Early school times affect decision making, reaction time, and reduced attention spans. These hurt students mentally because when in the classroom, you may not be able to think straight. This may make students feel self conscious about their intelligence. This can also lead to the lack of knowledge in students, affecting their college selections and job options. The early years of school are most important, and all of these negatively affect