Does the school bell ring too soon? - the amount of sleep high school students receive in relation to school-starting times

Current Events, Jan 8, 1996

Do you feel tired at the start of the school day? Wen join the crowd. A study of high school students a few years ago revealed that two-thirds felt that they weren't getting enough sleep.

"Teenagers need about 91/2 hours of sleep a night (about two more hours more than adults)," says Mary Carskadon. Professor Carskadon, a teacher at Brown University, is an expert on sleep. Her studies have led to widespread questioning of school-starting times in the United States.

One who shares that concern is Dr. Mark W. Mahowald, a sleep specialist in Minneapolis. We ought to be allowed to send our children to school in a condition that promotes learning," he says. "Instead, we're sending them to school impaired."

Many teachers and students agree. A social studies teacher in Maryland says students often seem groggy during the first period. They perk up during the day, he indicates.

The problem, according to sleep experts, arises because of the rapid physical development of young teenagers. Their biological clocks are telling them to rest up. But their social activities and schoolwork are telling them to keep long hours.

So what is the solution? A study in Israel showed that teenagers starting school at 7 am were in distress. They reportedly "complained of more fatigue, more dozing off in class, more clashes with parents, and more late arrivals.' As a result of the study, Israel delays school starting time to 8 am. This change has been highly popular.

But not everyone would be happy with a later school start. Some students hold after-school, jobs, or do extracurricular activities such as sports. These students value after-school time.

What do you think? Does your school day start too early? If so, what would you like done about that?