Students Should Look Tired at School

by Abby Appel

Shadowed eyes, endless yawns and a lack of motivation. Adults say falling asleep during first block is unacceptable. You’re just being a lazy teenager. But are all teenagers just lazy?

School is starting much too early. According to the Mayo Clinic, a teen’s brain secretes a sleep chemical called melatonin from around 11 to 12 at night until about 8:30 in the morning. This means it is natural for a high school student to be sleeping until about 9 a.m. and not feel tired at all late at night. So why are most schools starting about an hour and a half before this?

Clearly school needs to be starting later. It could get in the way of sports, but in reality what is more important, a student’s health and education or their ability to throw a ball?

In addition, 1 out of 5 teens are depressed, more than any generation before us. One of the main causes of depression is sleep deprivation. Depression has a negative impact on a student’s learning abilities and grades.

A later starting time is not a new idea. In 1996, Rachel Wahlstrom conducted a research experiment at several Minneapolis schools. Each school pushed their first bell to an hour later for a year. Throughout this school year, there was a significant decrease in tardiness and students diagnosed with depression and an increase in grades and attendance.

With just one hour, a school was transformed, as were the students. Maybe we should consider this proposal too.