You wake up to the aggravating sound of your alarm clock at 6:00 in the morning. You snooze it. You snooze it again, and suddenly the bus is coming in 10 minutes. Granola bar grabbed for breakfast and math homework forgotten in your room; you head to school feeling grumpy and groggy. This dreary morning routine is the reality many students face. We tired students need a change!
Kingswood Oxford school needs to implement later school start times to help school members get quality sleep, while supporting their adolescent students’ busy schedules and changing sleep patterns; the later start times will improve the overall physical and mental health of all students and staff. Getting enough sleep is essential for all students, and its importance cannot be understated. According to the National Library of Medicine, the recommended amount of sleep for students ages 13-18 is 8-10 hours and fewer than 8% of students are getting that amount of sleep.
The current KO schedule starts classes at 8:00 a.m. every day of the week, except for Thursday, which is the sleep-in day and starts at 9:00 a.m. The later start time on Thursday is already a step in the right direction, but improvements could still be made to help students.
One primary reason why KO should have later start times is because the current morning schedule does not align with the busy lives of adolescents and their biological shift in sleep patterns. All teenagers are struggling with maintaining their busy schedules and often need to stay up late in order to keep up with their academics, extracurricular activities, and social lives. Going to bed at midnight and waking up at 6:00 in the morning is not a healthy sleep schedule; however, many high school students do not have other options. To be specific, some days I do not get home until 9:30 p.m., with my outside of school sports, and then I often have to complete hours of homework late at night, and I know other students at KO have even more intense schedules. Pushing back school start times by just an hour would lead to better time management, less stress and anxiety, and the ability to get quality sleep on school days, and it is crucial that this gets put into effect.
Not only do teens have to manage a hectic schedule with little sleep, their bodies also are biologically changing which is altering their natural sleep patterns. As stated by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, it feels more natural for teenagers to go to bed later and wake up later in the morning. This is because the melatonin release, which is what makes you tired, moves 1-2 hours later during adolescence, causing teens to feel that change in their sleep pattern. The current school schedule does not align with this shift, resulting in tired and dysfunctional students. Teenage students already have so much on their plate, and their changing hormones, which causes the melatonin release shift, should not have to negatively impact their academic and social commitments. Pushing back school start times will help students manage their biological changes and busy schedules.
Another reason why delaying the school start time is extremely important is the positive effects on students’ physical health. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, getting quality sleep and having more time in the morning can reduce major health risks such as obesity and type two diabetes. Many teenagers don’t have a substantial breakfast before school, which not only leads to hunger throughout the day, but can also cause students to develop poor eating habits. Not eating in the morning can result in overeating, and not choosing the healthiest option later in the day.
Early school start times are also putting others at risk. Poor sleep can lead to drowsiness in the morning, resulting in danger to many when students have to get behind the wheel in these conditions. Drowsy driving causes one in 10 car accidents per year, and 27% of those drowsy driving incidents involve teenage drivers. These statistics are difficult to think about, and changing the school start times could ensure safety and better health for all teenagers.
A final reason why KO needs to implement later start times is because sleep is extremely beneficial to the mental health and wellbeing of all school members. Everything revolves around mental health, and here at KO, being in a healthy mental state is extremely important. According to the National Library of Medicine, studies have shown that inadequate sleep has sparked mental health issues such as depression. Students with poorer sleep experience more depressive symptoms such as suicidal thoughts and hopelessness, which increases the risk of exposure to alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. Moving the school start time will allow for better quality sleep within adolescents and decrease the risk of developing depression, and other mental health issues.
Changing the school start time to later will not only help with mental health; it will also improve students’ ability to excel academically. “Studies have shown adolescents not only get more sleep, but have better attendance, academic outcomes and graduation rates,” Lisa J. Meltzer, who writes for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia stated. Getting better sleep does not only benefit physical and mental health; it also helps students be more educationally successful.
Delaying school start times can positively impact all members of the KO community. According to the National Education Association, having a later start time does not just benefit the students; it benefits the teachers and staff as well. The later start times gives teachers time to get ready for the day, leaving them less stressed, well-rested, and prepared to enter the school environment at their best. According to the Connecticut General Assembly, the later start times also gives teachers the opportunity to get a healthy duration of sleep, and 51% of high school teachers feel an increase in alertness during the school day. This change can also improve the quality of teaching, further benefiting everyone in the classroom. Delaying the school start time can also provide KO faculty and staff with more opportunities for professional development and can help develop academic planning.
A possible solution to the school start time issue could be to make every day like Thursday with a start time at 9:00 a.m. We are still able to squeeze in five classes and community time while starting an hour later. For days like Wednesday, where many teams have games, we could still start at 9:00, have five 50 minute classes, and get rid of advisory that day, which would result in getting out of class at 1:00, at the earliest. Although it will take work to implement a later start time, and commitments will need to be scheduled around, it is worth it in the long run for the betterment of us KO students.
To conclude, implementing later school start times at KO is necessary because it will help adolescents get adequate sleep, while supporting their busy schedules and shift in sleep patterns. Later start times also have several positive effects on the physical health and mental wellbeing of students. We students are the future, and we need to do what is best for us. Introducing later school start times is the first step to take in order to make the learning environment a better place, and it is time to do so as soon as possible.
