School v. The Sandman
We all have one song that used to be our favorite, and now induces fevers, sweat, and nausea. Whoever said that making a good song your alarm in the morning, was out of their mind. Waking up at 6:30 A.M. to get their seats by the 8:10 bell day after day, starts to wear on students; especially if they’re staying up late with sports practices and homework.
“I get around 10 hours of sleep,” said freshman Weston Trefz.
This shocking number doesn’t seem too realistic. The ladies in the office claimed a mere 4-6 hours, while teacher Mr. Peltzman catches 4-8. Kids from the age of 13-18 need anywhere from 8 ½ to 9 ½ hours of sleep to function at full capacity. Unfortunately, less than 15% of teens actually get this much sleep on an average night during the school week.
How does the lack of sleep affect the average student? Sleep studies show that students are less attentive, fall asleep in class, and have lower grades when not reaching the recommended amount of sleep. Not only is your school work affected, but your performance in sports and extracurricular activities suffer. In addition to educational problems, sleep and health are directly proportional. Mood swings, weight fluctuation, and change of your biological clock are all resultants of insufficient sleep. “Health risks include obesity, cardiovascular problems, diabetes, depression, grogginess, and being unfocused,” school nurse Danielle Young reported. For her, taking care of her family and work cause her to miss the most sleep.
To combat these problems, some schools are pushing back their start times to allow more time for sleeping. Most teachers at EHS prefer the school start time to remain the same, “No change would be fine,” Mr. Keltner agreed.
A sleep report by Kyla Wahlstrom claims that, “Adolescents are substantially sleep deprived when high schools begin classes much before 8:15 a.m.” At this point, schools in 19 states have pushed back their start times, and in 17 states they are considering delaying their start times.
In addition to a later start time, a student can adjust their own sleeping schedule and habits to achieve more rest.
Create a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath or listening to soothing music – begin an hour or more before the time you expect to fall asleep. Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool, sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows and finish eating at least 2-3 hours before your regular bedtime Exercise regularly.
Overall, a combination of setting a good sleeping routine and catching enough Z’s will help your school work, social life, and general health. Having a later school start time might not be in our future, but do what you can to make yourself a healthier person in the mean time!
