Schools Should Start Later

746 Words3 Pages
Why Schools Should Start Later “Early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” This quote by Benjamin Franklin explains that going to bed and waking up early is good, but does this apply to teenagers? Studies have shown that eighty-five percent of teenagers got at least ten hours less of sleep per week then they should. With more sleep there is less likelihood of experiencing depression, as well as reduced likelihood for tardiness, reduced absenteeism, better grades, and reduced risk of metabolic and nutritional deficits associated with insufficient sleep, including obesity. Taking all this into consideration schools should start later. Having adequate sleep is very important for growing children. When you don’t have enough sleep you can suffer from metabolic, and nutritional deficits, including obesity. When you don’t get enough sleep your energy levels are low, and your metabolism slows down, not allowing your calories to burn as fast as they should. Sleep deprivation or lack of sleep usually considered less than 6 to 8 hours per night can result in weight gain. Sleeplessness results in hormonal changes that increase appetite and cravings for energy-dense foods. Lack of sleep also reduces the extent of growth. This is due, mainly, to reduced secretions of the cortisol hormone. It may also result in other problems such as reduced immunity and poor digestion. Reduced immunity, in turn, makes the person susceptible to a great number of diseases that weaken the body to a great extent and hence, the overall growth reduces. In addition to the growth hormone, lack of sleep may disturb other hormones responsible for the metabolism of compounds such as glucose. This results in conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Millions of students don’t get enough sleep and they suffer with bad grades. A survey shows that forty-nine percent of
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