Schools have sought to find the proper schedule for their students as concerns about their sleep have been more discussed, especially as society has advanced in technology. Although many students have gravitated to self-diagnosing their poor sleeping habits as Insomnia, many tend to forget how rapid body changes, iron deficiencies, and stress and anxiety, specifically in adolescence, disrupt sleep.
Setting the Proper Sleep Schedule
The standard 8-10 hours of sleep tends to be a struggle for many students as they struggle to maintain a balance between school, extracurriculars, and activities outside of school. However, many factors play into a school’s start and end times. Many students have to wake up at 6:00 a.m. to have transportation to school; revealing that they would need to get to sleep by 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. Most of these students typically do not fall asleep this early.
Solutions to curbing student sleep deprivation consist of understanding the importance of sleep cycles and schedules in academic outcomes. The American Academy of Perdiretics recommends that middle schools and high schools should start school at or after 8:30 a.m.
The Problem With Setting a Later Start Time in School
Opponents of later or altered school times often communicate logistic challenges as the following: the effect on extracurriculars, students finishing school work at an even later time, bus driver shortages, and increased traffic.
While setting a proper school schedule is subjective, it is best to listen to the majority of the community when making executive decisions on the people who are heavily impacted by the schedule. Teachers and administrators of taken into consideration some of the students and parents at Quakertown Community High School. They attempted to start school at 8:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m., yet there were still complaints about the inflexibility for students who have jobs, sports, and community service, and the staff who are required to stay longer after school.
The Perspective of a Student
Current students at Quakertown High School have shared their personal opinions on the matter as “a student’s sleep is important for them to perform well in academics and extracurriculars”. Another student mentioned possibly “starting school later, but ending a little earlier”, so that that both students and bus drivers can remain at an advantage in the situation.
Both students did agree on how special media and the influence of their phones, have caused them to stay up late at night; leading to a factor that is less discussed within sleeping habits, but is imperative to find a solution for students with getting the proper sleep.
Teenagers and Their Relationship With Their Phones and Sleep
Teenagers have already established their attachment to their phones. Even though this is an issue that can be controlled, society has made cell phones more of a necessity wherever people go. Therefore, students may find it difficult to distance themselves from their phones when they can unwind and go to sleep when being around technology all day is all they know to relax them.
Sleep is essential for people to carry out important functions and if not obtained, especially during adolescence, will lead to severe consequences from overactive brain activity. The balance between controlling one’s sleeping habits and the schedule provided to them every day during school needs to be agreeable. Moreover, schools need to take into consideration solutions that will leave their students successful academically and in proper condition physically and mentally.
