WAKE UP!!!

In English we had to do a persuasive essay, and I did it on how school should stop later. So here is some of the reasons I think it should start later...

Wake up!!! It’s time to get ready for school!!! You look at your clock and have fifteen minutes to get ready. You are exhausted, because you didn’t get as much sleep as you would have liked. You couldn’t go to sleep last night. You skip breakfast, because you don’t have enough time, even though it’s the most important meal of the day. You get to school just on time, but you will have a hard time staying awake during the day. You wonder why school couldn’t just start at a later time. Schools, especially junior high and high schools, should start at a later time.

Teenagers have biological clocks that effects how and when they sleep. For teenagers, it causes them to stay awake even when they are tired and want to go to bed. These irregular sleep patterns are also affecting the quality of sleep that teenagers are getting. This time can be between nine and ten, but it is different for every person. This is affecting our sleep significantly. Some researchers from Brown University and Stanford University did a study with teenagers. They saw these biological clocks in action, and know that they are keeping many students awake at night. They need to get more sleep and are having a hard time in school because of it. Some students are falling asleep in class, and not paying attention, because they are too tired. We are not as alert as we could be. This is making us lose a lot of sleep and we are suffering because of it.

We as teenagers are losing sleep, because school is starting so early. We are being sleep deprived. Bill Dement, started sleep research at Stanford, says that many teenagers are sleep deprived and are like that every day. This is causing us to not have all the energy we could have. According to the National Sleep Foundation 85% of teenagers are getting less than eight and a half ours of sleep each night. We are supposed to be getting at least that much. We aren’t getting the energy and the concentration that we need. “There are literally millions of adolescents who feel despondent, get poor marks, or are too tired to join high-school teams all because they are getting too little sleep,” says Sarah Sprinks producer of an Adolescent and Sleep article. The same symptoms of sleep loss are a lot like the symptoms of depression. Sleep researchers are pushing schools to start at a later time, because of these issues.

Since teenagers aren’t getting enough sleep they aren’t performing as well as they could be. Brown University’s study has shown us that lack of sleep affects mental and physical skills. We need to get more sleep so we can do better in these things. “Teenagers that do not get enough sleep have worse grades, more depression, anxiety, irritability, and somatic complaints; poorer attendance; and a greater tendency toward delinquency and violence.” Said William C. Dement, MD, PhD, Stanford University. Some people say that the students will need to get up early to get them prepared for life. Part of that may be true, but school should not be starting this early. Students are being physically challenged to go to school and not just in PE. They have to get up earlier and it is making them tired throughout the day. This sleep deprivation can be very dangerous and deadly for teenagers that are driving. If you stay awake for eighteen hours or more then it is equal to having a blood alcohol limit of 0.08%, which is above the legal limit. This is very dangerous and can cause people to die from it. There have been many studies done on teenagers sleep, and they all show that we need to get more sleep. Some students are sleeping through class so they aren’t learning at their full potential. Because we aren’t getting enough sleep; we aren’t doing as well as we could be in school.

Teenagers desperately need to get more sleep. We have biological clocks that are keeping us a wake at night even when we want to go to sleep. We are losing sleep that we need so much. Not getting enough sleep is affecting our abilities. School needs to start later so we can get enough sleep.