Not Enough Sleep Can Cause Many Problems

Some schools starts at 7:45 a.m. and others after 9:00 a.m. during this time every student is in class by now. Students and parents may probably be awake by 6:30 a.m. getting ready for school at 7:45 a.m. but this is way too early to be up. Many parents and students are not prepared to wake up because it's way too early for school. Some may be in a hurry for school to go to work, and plus drop off their children. With school starting way too early it causes students not to get enough sleep.

Not enough sleep can cause a student not fully soak up what is being teached like a sponge. Health risks such as being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and using drugs, as well as poor academic performance is caused by not getting enough sleep but 73 percent of U.S. high school students get less than eight hours of sleep on school nights. Getting enough sleep improves attention, behavior, learning, memory, emotional regulation, quality of life, and mental and physical health.Teens need about eight to 10 hours of sleep each night. Not getting enough sleep may not engage students to do daily physical activity. Also this causes students to perform poorly in school for example taking tests. School should not start very early in the morning because children do not get enough sleep and the brain is not fully awake.

Students and faculty often rely on caffeine to wake them up which is not healthy. Too much caffeine can cause rapid or abnormal heart rhythm. Not enough sleep can cause sleep deprivation which can make a student get a car accident.' The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says that a lack of sleep impacts performance by reducing concentration, creating attention deficits, slowing reaction times, increasing distractibility, impairing decision-making skills and causing forgetfulness" (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Insufficient sleep in teenagers can increase the risk of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts. Getting home later in the afternoon can help the student not be home alone for hours. Later start times reduced tardiness and dropout rates. Students need to get enough sleep and remove stress from everyday life.

Some benefits of school starting early is shorter bus rides for students and less time sitting in traffic. Schools may also be able to save up to 30 percent on transportation costs by starting some campuses early and staggering start times within the district. With school starting early students may have more time for after-school tutoring and student-athletes miss fewer classes to travel to after-school competitions. This gives the students more time to do outside activities for example going out with families, and working , also early school starting benefits the parents to run their schedules with work.

School should start later because not enough sleep can lead to health issues. Students need to be taught about appropriate sleep hygiene and the benefits of getting enough sleep. Parents should take away any electronic device or any distractions. Keep student on a schedule of when is time to sleep and make a 'lights out rule". With school starting later this gives the students time to eat a healthy breakfast without rushing about how class starts in 5 minutes. Improvements of better grades and better focus is all about getting enough sleep. School is education that prepares us for the future to succeed in everyday life. In order to succeed, school needs to start later to improve health, and academic achievement in students.

Cite this page