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AT BETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE HIGH SCHOOL!
A survey returned by half the Bethesda-Chevy Chase student body provides shocking information about sleep deprivation among high school students in Montgomery County. On average, students surveyed on March 16, 2001 indicated that they got six-and-a-half hours of sleep the previous night. There is little difference among grades. By comparison, the National Sleep Foundation reports and adopts the recommendation of leading sleep researchers that teenagers need 9 to 9 ¼ hours of sleep per night. These findings indicate that a substantial sleep deficit exists. Inadequate sleep and early waking times (due to early school starting times) can lead to poor school performance, traffic accidents among student drivers, drowsiness or actual in-class dozing, behavioral problems, and other negative effects.
The data come from a survey designed by a group of concerned parents, who secured permission from BCC Principal Katy Harvey to have first-period teachers distribute a short questionnaire to their students, who filled it out and returned it to the teacher, who turned the completed forms in to a central repository. The survey had just three questions:
1)
What year are you in? (students were asked to circle "Freshman," "Sophomore,"
"Junior," or "Senior")
2)
What time did you fall asleep last night (your best guess)?
3)
What time did you get up this morning?
Surveys were turned in for about half of the school's 1150 students (by all students in about half of the classes) and tabulated by parent and student volunteers.
Averages of course mask a wide variety of student sleep patterns. Many students get less than six-and-a-half hours of sleep. Ten percent of freshmen, 11 percent of sophomores, 15 percent of juniors, and 14 percent of seniors reported getting five or fewer hours of sleep the previous night; and among them were some getting two and three hours sleep (including several who said they did not get to sleep at all).
Average going to sleep time was 11:15 pm; average wakeup time ranged from 6 am to 6:20 am for different grades. School starts at 7:35 am and buses pick students up for the most part before 7. Sleep research indicates that due to physiological factors, teenagers have difficulty going to sleep earlier, so the only way to provide them with the sleep they need is to allow them to sleep later, which in turn is possible only if school starts later.
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