By: Hannah Bernstein
It’s only the beginning of the year, and students like Emily Lu are already struggling to keep their heads off their desks and their eyes open during class. This begs the questions: does school start too early? Why are kids so tired?
As it turns out, LREI actually starts classes later than many high schools, considering that the average start time for US high schools is 8:03 am. However, according to sleep scientists, LREI is right on the edge of an appropriate start time. Studies show that school should begin at 8:30 at the earliest.
According to PhD and sleep science expert Michael J. Breus, teens “experience a biological shift to a later sleep-wake cycle.” Dr. Breus explains that melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep, works differently for teens than for adults: “For teens, melatonin release occurs later in the evening—usually around 11 p.m.—and drops later in the morning.” This melatonin regulation explains why teens go to bed later and are more tired in the morning, and why prioritizing an earlier bedtime is difficult for teens. The only way for teens to get the 8-10 hours of sleep that doctors recommend is through a later start time.
Even though 8:30 is a later class start time than most schools, when considering the extracurriculars of LREI students and their often long commutes, many students still struggle to get enough rest.. “My commute is over an hour because I live in New Jersey, so I have to wake up really early,” says junior Sarah Katz. On top of her long commute, Katz juggles PE, a job, and homework. Even if she could physically fall asleep early, she logistically cannot finish all of her activities before midnight, she says. Katz gets an insufficient six hours of sleep each night–far less than the average teenager requires.
Junior Izzy Barrera gets even less sleep, clocking approximately five hours a night. She finds mornings to be the most difficult time of day for her. “It’s hard to focus because I’m so tired,” she says. Melatonin in teens’ bodies does not subside until later in the morning, so what Barrera is experiencing is completely normal and typical for a teenager. In fact, a survey which recorded the responses of 123 LREI students shows that the average pupil gets around 6.9 hours of sleep per night. As a result, it is not surprising that 71.1% of surveyed students would prefer a later start time and 12.4% would possibly prefer a later school time.
The benefits of pushing back a school’s start time have been well documented. There is often a drop in tardiness, drug use, and disciplinary actions, a rise in grades, and a more even temper at home, according to research conducted by PhD Kyla Wahlstrom. The same research found that as school time gets pushed back later and later in the day, the positive results continue to increase.
Vice Principal Sarvjit Moonga approves of a later start time; in fact, the school where he worked in the UK started at 9 am. When asked about how shifting the schedule might affect teachers and extracurricular activities, he explained, “if starting late is great for kids, then finishing late is what you have to do, because yes it’s a job that we do but it’s for the welfare of the students, so we should adapt accordingly.”
Sources:
http://www.kappanonline.org/later-start-time-for-teens/
https://www.nais.org/magazine/independent-teacher/spring-2015/my-ideal-high-school/
http://www.thesleepdoctor.com/2017/03/30/teens-need-sleep-think/
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