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| This article, written by BCC parents Chester Hartman and Kirk Renaud, is the first in a series of articles on this topic. To read the next articles, click here. |
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According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), adolescents need about 9 hours of sleep each day in order to function well and stay healthy. Most elementary and middle schoolers get at least 8 hours of sleep per night, but once high school begins, the majority of teens no longer get enough sleep. Preliminary data from a survey of students at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School indicated that high school studentsin the area get about 6.5 hours of sleep per night, and more than 10 percent get by on less than 5 hours per night.
Sleep deprivation is an inevitable result for students caught in a squeeze between early school start times and changing adolescent sleep cycles. With high school starting at 7:25, many students need to get up as early as 6:00 to get ready for school and catch the bus on time. While school start times force students to get up early, biology is keeping them up late at night. Circadian rhythms (daily sleep cycles) change naturally with age. Young children who once would cheerfully wake up early and fall asleep before 9:00 become teenagers who cannot fall asleep much before 11:00 or 12:00.
Teenagers who don’t get enough sleep risk many harmful consequences. Scientific research and common sense suggest that sleep deprived teens can’t perform optimally in school, sports, and other activities. Academic performance suffers because drowsy students have more difficulty absorbing new information. Sleep deprivation can lead to nodding off in class, tardiness, and increased absenteeism. Continually tired teens are also more likely to suffer from physical and mental health problems, including depression. In addition, research has clearly linked drowsy driving with a large number of driving accidents. High school students are well aware of the problems of too little sleep, as indicated by these representative comments from a recent survey:
"I need more sleep! I'm insanely stressed and am missing school because I am so tired!!"
"I see a student sleep in class EVERY DAY."
"Getting up so early depletes our energy for learning and thinking."
BCC parents who responded to the survey overwhelmingly agreed that sleep deprivation is a serious problem for their children. Many complained of the struggle to get kids up on time and the need to drive to school when buses were missed. Some noted the connection between exhaustion and frequent illness, and others suggested that more sleep would produce better grades. The majority of parents indicated that lack of sleep is a major contributor to family stress.
"Lack of sleep is the biggest stress factor in our relationship with our teenager."
"My
daughter degenerates as the school week goes on. By Thursday, she looks
exhausted, and by Friday she's usually crying when I wake her up."
"My
children’s high school years have been extremely stressful for us all.
Also,
I
am positive that my children's grades would improve considerably with more
sleep."
What
can be done about sleep deprivation in MCPS high schools? Many communities
around the country are changing school schedules to help teens get more
sleep. WAKE UP! -- an organization of parents and students from Montgomery
County schools -- has been collecting information, raising awareness, and
developing options for better school schedules. Changing MCPS will
take time and the concerted efforts of parents, students, teachers and
administrators because scheduling is a complex matter with major economic
ramifications. But ours is a progressive school system, and we are
confident that creative solutions can be implemented in the not-too-distant
future. In the meantime, to obtain more background information, and
find out how you can support this effort, go to our website (http://www.patesslinger.com/wakeup/).
And come to our monthly meetings.
| Parents, students, teachers and other school staff concerned about the problem of sleep deprivation among high school and middle school students are encouraged to join WAKE UP!, an organization working for later school starting times in Montgomery County. To join, click here |