Teenagers Need More Sleep!

Author: Jake Eakin

Image Source: Sleep Foundation

It has long been pointed out that teenagers perform the worst at school but one thing nobody ever asks is, why? Well I have the answer, and it is because of lack of sleep! They actually tested this and the results were quite obvious:

Increased attendance rates
Decrease in disciplinary action
Increase in state assessment scores
Increase in student's attention
Decrease in students sleeping during instruction

Why aren't they doing this then? Well, it makes things harder for the schools, and schools don't care enough to actually try to make things better for their students. As stated by apa.org, one of the websites to share the results on why:

Increased cost, congestion, & delays associated with having
busses on the road later in the morning.
Inability of parents to rely on older children for afternoon
childcare, as the lower schools would have effectively switched
schedules with the upper schools.
Scheduling conflicts for intervarsity/interscholastic events
with neighboring jurisdictions that have earlier dismissal.

Now these issues could be worked around if they were willing to make the effort, and they aren't. It's not even just one website, even the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has pointed this out, and pointed out the same, plus even more possible side effects of not getting enough sleep, including:

Being overweight.
Not engaging in daily physical activity.
Suffering from symptoms of depression.
Engaging in unhealthy risk behaviors such as drinking,
smoking tobacco, and using illicit drugs.

So it definitely isn't a new idea, and there are more than enough reasons to do it. There are some good reasons for not doing it too, but the proven benefits could outweigh the costs, and would be worth it, for the teachers, because they wouldn't have to constantly get students attention, the parents because they don't have to stress over their kids not getting stuff done, and more importantly, the students, because they get enough sleep, and get work done! So in the end, it is definitely a good idea, and it would be worth it to implement.