Anna Gosselin

Honors English 9
Ms. McPartland
2 June 2015
Sleep In or Space Out
Lets face it, were all tired. People who say theyre a morning person are most likely
lying. Arent you tired from having to wake up so early in the morning to get ready for school?
Most students at Hermon High School would answer this question with a definite yes. Some
students have even said that they have to wake up at 5:30 in order to be ready for the bus or be
able to drive themselves. The lack of ability to sleep in at a later time certainly alters a student's
mood and performance throughout the school day. First period is always rough when students
wake up so early. Most students have trouble paying attention or even staying awake through
lessons given in a first period class. This leads to a poor performance because the students arent
retaining the information enough to remember it. There definitely should be a change in the
starting of the school time in order to raise the understanding of students in the education system
and to possibly improve test scores for the high school as a whole.
An article by Millicent Lawton called Sleepy Heads explains the general concerns of
school starting times being too early for adolescents through a study by Brown Universitys
Mary Carskadon. Mary Carskadon specializes in psychiatric and human behavior while
conducting a sleep research laboratory at E.P. Bradley Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.
Her study proves that its not always the students choice of when they fall asleep but rather their
biology. After puberty, teenagers sleep schedules alter to what is called a delayed phase
preference. This explains the reasoning why teenagers choose to stay up later at night and sleep

in later in the morning. Carskadon directed a study over 15 East Providence High School
students. She tracked their sleep schedules and tiredness throughout the day while also weighing
in the factor of transitioning from middle school starting times and high school starting times.
The students all agreed that starting school an hour earlier from the middle school starting time
was the ultimate struggle and the cause of their tiredness. They reported that by going to school
earlier, the first couple hours of school came with a great struggle to wake up while the rest of
the day was manageable.
Teenagers and Sleep is a brilliant article written by Sarah D. Sparks. The article explains
that sleep patterns in adolescents are often altered by homework, after school activities and parttime jobs. Sparks states that teenagers need at least 9 hours of sleep but no more than 12. Any
more or less can cause drowsiness. Sparks also included that a study done by the University of
California in Los Angeles showed students who cram or binge study for tests the next day defeat
the whole purpose of studying the material because your brain needs at least 5 to 6 hours of sleep
in order for the information to be correctly remembered. Another study by the University of
California shows that students between the ages of 15 to 18 choose to sacrifice sleep over after
school activities or jobs in order to study. This was proven by asking 535 students to track their
study habits and sleep patterns for 2 weeks. The overall outcome of the study was that students
had trouble learning new material and taking tests due to the lack of sleep. If school times were
to start later in the morning, students wouldnt have to worry about sacrificing any after school
activity or studying time in order to get the right amount of sleep.
The informational article by Steve Mardon called Homeroom Zombies explains the likely
causes of why students dont get enough sleep and how that affects their grades. Common
reasons why teens stay up so late at night are technological distractions like internet and TV but

also homework and other assignments. Most students even have part-time jobs, sports, and clubs
which lessens the amount of time they have to complete homework and study. Therefor, students
result to sacrificing sleep in order to do all of these things. Mardon also states that this is a major
concern because teenagers going through puberty need at least 8 hours of sleep but due to these
responsibilities of homework, commitments to jobs and sports, and distractions of TV and other
technology have altered their sleep patterns and schedules for the worst. Researchers at Case
Western Reverse University conducted a study at a nearby high school. The results were that
more than half of the students received 7 or less hours of sleep and only 1 in every 5 students got
6 hours of sleep or less. Minneapolis high schools changed their starting time by an hour and a
half in the year 1990. This resulted in a slight improvement of students grades and a 3% rise in
attendance level. All of these factors contribute to why students dont get enough sleep and how
this affects their performance in school.
There are many reasons why teenagers have trouble getting enough sleep and how this
affects their performance in school as a whole. Whether its distractions like the social media,
texting, video games, and TV. Or maybe its the responsibilities of jobs, sports, after school
activities, homework, and studying. Even a teenagers biology due to puberty affects their sleep
patterns. Each one of these reasons are not only relatable but are proven to be accurate by
Millicent Lawton, Sarah D. Sparks, and Steve Mardon. These three researchers have proven that
not getting enough sleep or sacrificing it for something else isnt always the teenagers fault. A
major solution to this recurring problem is to change the starting time of high schools to a later
time. This would improve attendance and the overall performance of students in school.