Sleep is a biological need…a need that very few teenagers are able to fulfill. High school students should be getting around 8-10 hours of sleep (Otman). However, Mrs. Smith’s first block Honors English II class gets an average 6.947 hours of sleep per night. Many believe school start times greatly affect the amount of sleep students receive. Pushing back Jefferson City High School’s start time 2 hours will decrease the number of car crashes that occur on school grounds, help improve mental health, and lead to better grades because students will get more sleep. Car crashes will occur less frequently because students will be more awake when they drive.
Dr. Robert Vorona, a professor at Eastern Virginia Medical school did a study comparing the car crash rates in 2008 at Virginia Beach High School and Chesapeake High School, two similar high schools located in similar cities (Holohan). Virginia started at 7:20 a.m. while Chesapeake began at 8:40 a.m (Holohan). The study showed that Chesapeake had 4.62% car crashes and Chesapeake had 6.54% (Holohan). While the relation may not be direct, officials belive students at Virgina High School are sleep deprived. While the decrease in teen car crashes is a good thing, school officials’ main problem with later start times are the costs. There will have to be many changes to busing schedules that will lead to more expenses (Breus). However, new research proves later start times for secondary schools will generate economic advantages that will outweigh the bus costs (Breus). According to a study by the RAND Corporation (and RAND Europe) moving school start times to 8:30 a.m. could contribute to $9.3 billion to the U.S. economy in one year (Breus).
Car accidents account for many teenage deaths, therefore, providing less labor which hurts the economy (Breus). However, if later start times are implemented, car crashes decrease, and more teenagers will live and work which positively effects the economy (Breus). There is a a mental health epidemic across the world and it is affecting teens most of all (Ladd). According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, high school and middle school students who lack sleep suffer from physical and mental problems (“Teens Need Later School Start Time, Doctors Say.”). Professor Jack Pelz, a professor at Daemon College conducted a study in which almost 200 students across the nation were told to complete a simple survey about their sleep hygiene and family life (“Earlier School Start Times May Increase Risk of Adolescent Depression and Anxiety, URMC Study Says”).
Then they were told to keep track of their daily sleep habits (quantity and quality) and depressive/anxiety symptoms over the course of a week (“Earlier School Start Times May Increase Risk of Adolescent Depression and Anxiety, URMC Study Says”). The results suggest that good sleep hygiene benefit students no matter when they go to school (“Earlier School Start Times May Increase Risk of Adolescent Depression and Anxiety, URMC Study Says”). Nevertheless, schools consisting of start times after 8:30 a.m. show a small but positive effect on mental health (“Earlier School Start Times May Increase Risk of Adolescent Depression and Anxiety, URMC Study Says”). While any mental health benefit is important, working parents will have to come up with several hours of after-school care now that high school siblings won’t be home. While after/before school programs and babysitters exist, they usually cost money that some parents simply don’t have (Campbell).
Parents, school officials, and school districts will have to come up with a solution. In Jefferson City, there already is a solution in place-S.T.E.A.M., a free after-school program located at both Lewis and Clark Middle School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School. This is where utilitarianism comes into play; school officials must do what is right for the most amount of people. After-school programs such as S.T.E.A.M. will actually benefit elementary students while middle school and high school students get more sleep. Better performances in grades can be seen in schools that have pushed back their times. Students that are not getting enough sleep may result in problems with creativity, memory, decision-making, organization, and attention, all of which are vital for success in school. (Mindell and Owens). Dr. Wahlstrom from the University of Minnesota studied a group of more than 7,000 high school students (“A. Academic Performance”). He found that teens with a 4.0 had, on average, fifteen more minutes of sleep than students with 3.0’s who in turn averaged eleven more minutes than the 2.0’s and the 2.0’s had ten more minutes of sleep than the 1.0’s (“A. Academic Performance”).
Study after study proves more sleep results in countl
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