Sleep Deprivation In Early School

First, some major effects of lack of sleep caused by early school start times are reduced comprehension, thinking, and overall brain activity in students. In a study concerning sleep deprivation, participants were respectively assigned four, six, and eight hours of sleep for two weeks and were later mentally evaluated. “...after only two weeks, the six-hour group showed a similar reaction time to a person with a blood alcohol concentration of .1%, which is considered legally drunk.” (ASAP Science, “How Much Sleep Do You Actually Need?”) This evidence shows that in the experiment, those with a mere six hours of sleep showed behavior and a reaction time similar to that of someone who is legally intoxicated. The usual mental effects of intoxication

“In children, sleepiness can lead to hyperactivity, also hampering learning. Teens may lose the focus, diligence, and memory capacity to perform well in school.” (WebMD) Evidently, having a full 8 ½ to 10 hours of sleep, as recommended by pediatricians nationwide, has an unlimited number of benefits to learning and may even boost academic performance in West Windsor Plainsboro schools. With adjusted school start times, the tired and groggy feeling that nearly every middle and high schooler experiences would be replaced with a refreshed, energized, and more alert mental state. Students would have increased vigilance in class and perform better, as well as be able to remember and recall information learned in class later on. Overall, having a full night’s sleep is imperative for students to consistently learn and perform at the best of their

“One study found that for every 10 minutes later that a teenager went to bed, there was a 6 percent increase in the chance they’d used alcohol or marijuana in the past month...” (Huffington Post, “5 Scary Health Effects Of Sleep Deprivation During The Teen Years”) These astounding results from the Research and Development (RAND) Corporation show a strong relationship between lack of sleep and depressant use among teenagers specifically. When school districts like ours have buses arriving on curbs as early as 6:50am, students usually turn to unhealthily drastic measures to keep themselves going. Personally, I have seen these measures being taken even at the middle school level, where kids experiment with energy drinks to compensate for the sleep they lose during the week. This harmful and unhealthy substance abuse must be stopped among middle and high schoolers, starting with pushing back school start times and giving our students the sleep they need to