Sleep deprivation is one of the most widespread and underestimated afflictions that teens (and the general public) face today. This problem, though easily remedied for most, can lead to other potentially fatal conditions. As part of a national debate, the American Academy of Pediatrics has already weighed in, calling for later start times. We wanted to see how students and staff felt about Panther Creek’s start time of 7:25am, and any potential experiences with lack of sleep because of it.

As expected, most students felt wronged by the school start time. When we asked junior Collin Cleaver how he felt about the school start time, he had one simple answer: “I hate it.” This blunt response was even shared by Dr. Hedrick, the new principal, who also added that it’s been her hardest adjustment to Panther Creek.  Out of all the interviewees, the one who seemed to be most impacted by the school start time was football player junior Caleb Cross. He drew attention to a schedule that might be familiar to most athletes: “I get home at like 6:00pm, do homework until like 9:30pm, eat, then go to bed. I get homework done, then I don’t do anything. It sucks,” said Cross. Underclassmen were also affected by the unnatural schedule. “Everybody’s always tired,” said sophomore Jacob Carrell. Freshman Kelly Geiger added, “I always fall asleep in first period if I don’t go to bed before 11. I feel stressed out a lot too.”

Countless studies have presented many benefits of delaying school start times. For example, a study was done in 1996 after the school start times for schools in two cities in Minnesota were delayed by about an hour and a half. After three years, the results showed improved attendance, calmer hallways, fewer disciplinary and nurse referrals, and less tardiness in suburban areas. Urban activities showed few positive results, however, besides fewer confrontations and more conversations with students. A study carried out in Massachusetts in 2007 found that students who started school earlier were late four times as often, too. As a whole, a majority of studies have shown that positive outcomes come from delaying school start times.

Aside from exhaustion, lack of sleep has been shown to cause diabetes and high blood pressure, affect mood and memory, and increase stress and inflammation. Sleeping less than six hours per night has also been shown to increase the risk for major depression and other mental illnesses in adolescents. If that’s not worrying enough, psychologists at the University of Bonn in Germany found that sleep deprivation leads to symptoms of schizophrenia, arguably one of the most disabling forms of mental illness. The overwhelming hostility towards Panther Creek’s start time and the pervasiveness of sleep deprivation in the student body (and staff) are both blatantly obvious signs that change needs to come. Whether it’s educating the student body about the importance of sleep, or delaying the school start time (or both!), sleep needs to play a more important role in the lives of the Catamount family.

Sources

http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/Let-Them-Sleep-AAP-Recommends-Delaying-Start-Times-of-Middle-and-High-Schools-to-Combat-Teen-Sleep-Deprivation.aspx

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/consequences

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/08/19/peds.2014-1697

http://neurosciencenews.com/psychiatry-sleep-deprivation-psychosis-1161/

http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssleep/index.html#References

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-01/aaos-sfn013114.php

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7976621/Sleep-deprived-teenagers-triple-chances-of-mental-illness-by-spending-nights-online.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-if-you-dont-get-enough-sleep-2014-2

http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/tiredness-and-fatigue/pages/lack-of-sleep-health-risks.aspx

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2014/0825/Attention-teens-Later-school-start-time-gets-thumbs-up-from-big-organization-video