Irons 1

Carli Irons
Mrs. Cramer
Comp Pd. 6
17 March 2017
Sleeping For Success
*Beep Beep Beep*. You are startled when you awake to your alarm clock yelling at you.1

You hit the snooze button for the millionth time.2 The night before you only got around seven

hours of sleep. Track practice consumed the night.3 Activities such as sports, family, work, and

social schedules make it nearly impossible for teenagers to stick to bedtimes (Edwards). As

students enter adolescents, hormonal changes make it difficult for teens to compensate for early

school start times by going to bed earlier (Edwards). Research has shown that the early bell times

are to blame for the discrepancy between how much sleep teens get and how much is required

(American). Lack of rest is linked to increased risk of depression, car accidents, and other

problems (George). Having school start later would improve academic performance and increase

health.

In particular, by delaying the school start time it would improve multiple aspects within

academic performances. The optimal amount of sleep for adolescents is approximately nine and

a half hours of sleep nightly (American). Survey shows that more than half of teens ages 15-17

only sleep for seven or fewer hours. By increasing the start time by just an hour, standardize test

scores would increase by at least two percent in math, and one percent in reading (Edwards).

1 Personification- This sentence is giving the alarm clock human-like characteristics.

2 Hyperbole- This sentence over exaggerates the number of times the snooze
button was hit to show frustration.

3 Personification- This sentence is making the night portray as if it were a person.

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Studies have found that earlier start times could potentially result in fewer hours of sleep, which

would lead to numerous negative effects. A 1966 survey of research showed that less sleep is

associated with a decrease in cognitive performance (Edwards). Some would argue that a way to

prevent poor cognitive performance would be to go to bed at an earlier time. Not all students

have that option. For example, sports and work make it difficult for students to adjust the time

that they go to bed (Edwards). Results from analyses indicate that a one-hour delay in start time

increases standardized test scores in both reading and math by roughly three percentile points

(Edwards). The estimated effects of these changes are large enough to be substantively

significant. When looking into a later start time for middle schools, the benefits seem to persist

through at least the tenth grade. All North Carolina students are required to take a High School

Comprehensive Test at the end of each school year (Edwards). The exam measures growth in

reading and math. When controlling the start of school to an hour later, scores began to increase

two percentile points higher (Edwards). Not only does starting school at a later time increase

academic skills, but it also prevents students from watching as much television. Studies show

that students watch 12 fewer minutes of television each week, and accomplish nine more minutes

towards homework per week. That is more time towards focusing on important academics.

Please do NOT revert to old bell times!!! one high school parents wrote. If anything I wish

high school bell times were later (George). If schools push bell times back, that would result in

fewer absences as well. For example, research discovered that early start times would cause

students to more likely be tardy to school and be nonattendance (Edwards). Fewer absences

therefore may also explain why later-starting students have higher test scores compared to those

with regular begin times. Students who start earlier miss more school resulting in poor
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academics. To conclude, undergraduates who have more time each morning will be non-tardy,

and that will result in higher overall test scores.

In addition to improving academic performances, a later start time would also be the

result of increased health. Scientist are discovering new benefits of sleep (American). Sleep is

vital to almost all areas of human functioning (American). It has multiple benefits such as

increasing memory and learning, attention span, emotional regulation, mental health, well-being,

and control within body mass (American). Loss of sleep leads to decreases in/problems with

information retention and cognition, student behavior, attendance issues, and mood regulation

(American). Teens are notorious for staying up late. Usually, they go to bed in the late evening,

and sleep late into the morning when given the opportunity. That tendency is caused by the sleep-

wake cycle, which makes the human body drive for sleep (American). When sleep is deprived

from the body, it can act out in negative ways, as previously stated. Research also suggests that

by starting the school day later, it will prevent vehicle accidents involving young teens

(Holohan). The study looked at two different cities in Virginia with different start times, and

found an association between earlier classes and the most car accidents among sleep-deprived

students (Holohan). Between the two cities, the difference was stark. Chesapeake had 46.2

crashes for every 1,000 teen drivers, compared to 65.4 per 1,000 teen drivers in Virginia Beach

(Holohan). That is a 41 percent difference among them. We think the Virginia Beach students

may be sleep-deprived, said Dr. Robert Vorona, and that is perhaps the reason for the increased

crashes (Holohan). Dr. Vorona then stated that the amount of sleep teens get strictly depend on

what time they wake up in the morning. The brain cannot function properly when not fully alert

yet. Just after teens increased their sleep, the crash rated declined a rapid 16.5 percent during a

period when teen crashes increased throughout the state by 7.8 percent (Holohan). Teens are
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biologically programmed to get sleepy and wake up later than adults do, said Dr. Barbra

Phillips, of the University Of Kentucky College Of Medicine, They truly cannot help it. Theyre

not going to get sleepy at 10 p.m., so its hard for them to get the full eight hours of sleep when

they have to catch the 7:30 bus (Holohan). Concerns linger about the school start time. For

example, some fear that students will stay up later to counteract sleeping in longer. That cannot

be proven. The human body adapts to the specific time one usually falls asleep. Therefore, one

will not be able physically to stay up too much longer than they usually would. To conclude, a

delay in the school commence time would keep the roads a safer place for inexperienced young

drivers.

To summarize, changing the school start time to later would improve academic

performance, and improve health. Multiple articles and studies have shown a drastic

improvement within ones self when schools delay start times. When tested, students scores

improved in both subjects, math and reading. The standardized test scores further increased an

additional two percent. The effect is largest for students with below-average test scores,

suggesting that later start times would narrow gaps within the students achievements. As for

health, if all schools change the bell to a later time, car accidents relating teenagers would

decrease a whole 16.5 percent. If the early start time remains, as is, students attention span,

emotions, well-being, and body mass will diminish. Numerous benefits are provided to each

students when delaying the time school begins. Students deserve to feel triumphant. Enough is

Enough.4

4 Epanelepsis- This sentence shows repetition to reveal significance.

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Works Cited

American Psychological Association. "Later School Start Times Promote Adolescent Well-Being"
2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.
Edwards, Finley. "Do Schools Begin Too Early?" Education Next. N.p., 25 Dec. 2016. Web.
14 Mar. 2017.
George, Donna St. "Debate over School Start times Flares Anew." The Washington Post. WP
Company, 01 Jan. 2017. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.

Holohan, Ellin. "Earlier School Start Times Endanger Teen Drivers." Teen Driving, edited by
Michele Siuda Jacques, Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010521222/OVIC?
u=pl1949&xid=a15ac87d. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017. Originally published as "Early
School Start Times May Raise Risk of Teen Car Crashes,", 12 June 2010.