Five mornings a week, students wake up at the crack of dawn. They get themselves out of bed and prepare for, yet another, long school day. While many people believe waking up early is a standard routine for school, it is simply not ideal for students.
Early Morning Start
At the start of the 2022-2023 school year, the Anne Arundel County Board of Education implemented new school start times countywide; elementary schools at 8:00 am, high schools at 8:30 am, and middle schools at 9:15 am. These schedules have been in effect since the 2022-2023 school year, and are the same as of today. Early school mornings may seem like a necessary part of a proper education, but these premature times are actually working against student success. Early school start times have harmed student health, decreased attendance, and negatively affected the academic performance of students.
Tired Minds
Studies have shown that adolescents need around nine hours of sleep. However, due to early wake-up times, many students do not meet this sleep requirement. An article written by the National Institute of Health states, “…fewer than 8% of high school students report getting this amount [of sleep].” The article also cites that as students move up school grade levels, the amount of sleep they get each night decreases. When students receive an inadequate amount of sleep, it negatively impacts their mental health. In fact, according to the National Library of Medicine, insufficient sleep has been tied to depression and depressive symptoms.
Snooze Button Struggle
When a student’s alarm goes off in the morning, they might be tempted to hit the snooze button because they are tired. In many cases, when students do not get enough sleep, they are more likely to be tardy or absent from school. Due to an insufficient amount of sleep many high schoolers have trouble waking up or even getting out of bed. A study was conducted by Pamela McKeever of Central Connecticut State University that compared the attendance rate of schools before and after they implemented later start times. This study found that after school start times were delayed, the average attendance went from 90% to 94%.
Sleeping A’s
Beyond attendance and student health, inadequate sleep also impacts the academic performance of students. Sleep is an essential aspect of daily life as it helps us retain information, focus, and use critical thinking skills. When a student gets less than the recommended amount of sleep, which is between 8-10 hours, it can significantly impact their memory, cause them to lose focus, and can impair cognitive functions. This consequently interferes with the student’s work and learning, therefore causing their grades to suffer. With the amount of work high school students receive, many stay up late to study for quizzes or complete assignments. Staying up late and waking up early leads to sleep deprivation; sleep deprivation leads to academic decline.
Balancing School and Sleep
One way in which students can help overcome this challenge is through time management. Through time management, students have the power to organize, plan, and accomplish tasks and assignments in efficient time. If students prioritize the tasks they want to complete, they will be able to get to bed at a reasonable hour and complete assignments or studying for quizzes. Although this skill might not be for everyone, time management can help students increase the amount of sleep they receive each night.
Dear Educators
Educators play a large role in a student’s life. Educators can advocate for later school start times and can provide sufficient amounts of time for students to complete classwork in class. Sleep is vital for student success and with improper amounts of sleep, students do not perform well in school. If schools, teachers, educators, and parents band together, students will be able to receive the right amount of sleep each night and reach their highest potential.
