Academic Draft #2 A study published in the journal of Adolescent Health shows that about two-thirds of high school students

get less than seven hours of sleep per night, and only eight percent of high school students get the nine hours of sleep they need a night (Chen). If teens do not get their needed amount of sleep each night then it can affect their health and everyday activities. Just delaying some high schools by one or two hours can dramatically improve many teens grades and their motivation to do well at school. For the high school starting times that many have today which is around 7:15 a.m., the first class in the morning can often be a waste due to as much as twenty-eight percent of students falling asleep on an average day (Kalish). Most high schools start before elementary schools, but if the school starting times were to be based on sleep cycles then the times of high schools and elementary schools would actually be switched (Start School Later). Research shows that teenagers body clocks are set to a schedule that is different from that of younger children or adults (Kalish). This prevents adolescents from feeling tired until around 12 p.m., when their bodies produce melatonin, and when waking up early in the morning before ones body stops producing melatonin can be unhealthy for a teens body (Kalish). Melatonin is a hormone produced by the brain's pineal gland during the night; production turns on in the evening, which makes them tired, and off in the morning which wakes them up. Richard Schwab, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, conducted the study with his daughter Amanda, one of the sleep-deprived teens who

attended Harriton High School. I watched her get up early for four years, and saw how difficult it was, Dr. Schwab says. Teenagers need more sleep than adults and their circadian rhythms are phase shifted so that their ideal bedtime is midnight to 1:00 a.m.; yet they have to get up at 6:30 or earlier for high school. If Schools where to be based on sleep cycles, high school and elementary school start times would be switched. This would make it easier for teens and adolescents to focus at school and over all improving the school community. According to the National sleep foundation, children undergo a shift in sleep patterns when they enter puberty, this causes them to remain alert later in the evening and remain sleepy later in the morning (Works with). If high schools were to switch starting times with elementary schools, as one of the options, it would actually improve the learning of elementary students as well. Unlike teenagers, younger children tend to learn better earlier in the morning (Schwab). When adolescents hit puberty, their sleep cycles drastically change and it becomes harder to concentrate in the morning. Teens are found to be still tired in the morning when they wake up for school. When children wake up for school they are wide-awake and at the best time of the day for them to learn. Some Elementary school parents would complain that this would make their child be home earlier in the day unsupervised. But even with the time schedule for schools we have now many parents still do not get home early enough to make sure their child is ok. Having schedule difficulties for just after school should be better than trying to make arrangements before and after

school because of the many jobs requiring parents to leave early in the morning even before a childs bus comes (Schwab). If the start times were to be switched it would make it easier on the parents of adolescents because they will be able to make sure that their child safely made it on the bus. Also most high school students should be able to be at the bus stop or to drive to school without the assistance of their parents. Between sports, a job, and other activities, it might not be until 10 pm until a high school student can start their homework. Homework is important, but some high school students have to work, and things like sports and school activities are important aspects of high school as well. If anything, high schools should start later because if the students are not fully awake, they will not do very well. Schools should be about students getting the best grades they can get, even if it means just starting school later. By starting school based on sleep cycles it would better the school because adolescents and teens can get the most out of their learning. Allowing teens to sleep in might also contribute to fewer automobile accidents since sleepy teens that drive to school in the morning are more fatigued and have slower reaction times. Teens spend a lot of their time each day at school but, teens are not able to take in their learning opportunities due to the fact that sleep deprivation impairs ones ability to be alert, pay attent ion, solve problems, cope with stress and retain information. When sleepy teens have to get up so early in the morning they also may not have enough time to make and eat a nutritious breakfast, if they even have time to eat anything at all. This can

contribute to headaches and stomach pains that interrupt concentration levels while in school. Sleep deprivation in high school students can also lead to misbehavior problems as well (Strauss). Sleep deprivation in schools cause the school environment to become dangerous because sleep deprived teens could get in fights or yell at the teacher just because they are not fully awake. Young people who do not get the right amount of sleep each night carry risks such as falling asleep behind the wheel; emotional and behavioral problems like irritability, depression, and violence (Strauss). When teens are not getting the right amount of sleep they need each night it can be very dangerous to drive in the morning because of the risk of falling asleep due to all the loss of sleep a teen has from school.