Sleep Deprivation in School

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A Jump Ahead Only 90% of high school students are meeting their recommendation of at least 9 hours of sleep at night. The reason? Sleep deprivation due to schools starting early. Many students are not getting enough sleep and are waking up tired because schools are requiring students to show up before 8:30. It is scientifically shown that kids tend to stay up late, which leads them to waking up at a later time. Why is it crucial that schools start at a later time? First, sleep deprivation in teens is found to be related to the early start times of their schools. Secondly, starting school at a later time will benefit the school financially and improve its reputation. Lastly, kids perform better in school when received enough sleep. With all …show more content…

This is just one of the negative effects of schools starting too early. According to startschoollater.net, sleep deprivation has a number of impacts such as: weight gain, eating disorders, increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular problems, and diabetes. Many more serious impacts include reduced immunity, depression, anxiety, drug use and even suicidal ideation. This data shows that early school start times can greatly harm children due to the sleep deprivation it can cause. In solution, we can relieve students of sleep deprivation by pushing the start times forward. This will give students a higher chance of getting the eight and a half to nine and a half hours of sleep doctors recommend. Others may think children should be the ones changing their sleeping schedule earlier to meet the required time to show up at school. However, it is understood that students can be sleeping earlier as well to avoid the effects of sleep deprivation, but it had already been shown scientifically that students tend to stay up late. Furthermore, there are many other factors that interfere with the time kids go to sleep. Some obstacles may include: homework, family events, after school activities and sleeping/medical problems. It is much more beneficial for the students and school, if the start times are pushed forward. All in all, sleep deprivation is a large problem in young students and teens due to …show more content…

In addition, starting school at a later time will increase the school’s reputation and economy. As stated by education degree.com, ”School attendance and federal dollars are directly tied together, it’s the schools’ best interest to keep attendance up. Later start times increased attendance by 15% at a district in Ohio. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, they estimate increasing