Kayla Rand recently attended the National Journalism Education Association Convention in Denver, CO.  She competed in a national write-off competition and was recognized for the following commentary article.

No matter where in the world you travel, breaking laws has consequences. Few laws, however, have more severe consequences when broken than the laws of biology. Unfortunately, according to studies published, many school districts are breaking the laws of biology by simply starting before 8:30 a.m.

According to the National Sleep Foundation Study, “Later sleep and wake patterns among adolescents are biologically determined; the natural tendency for teenagers is to stay up late at night and wake up later in the morning.” The study later goes on to say that current school bell schedules, some of which begin as early as 7:00 a.m., are seriously depriving teenagers of sleep.

I, personally, am impressed school boards are trying to argue against a change that has been proven time and time again to help students as well as schools. Common arguments against change include the difficulties of rescheduling busses and dropping off or picking up students, but these are small, petty problems that shouldn’t be getting in the way of students getting help. Dr. Mary Carskadon, the Director of the Chronobiology/Sleep research Laboratory at Bradley Hospital in East Providence, Rhode Island, has done extensive research into this topic. She’s found several advantages to changing bell schedules to accommodate students, including better grades and attendance along with a lower likelihood of depression and obesity in students.

A study in the journal Preventive Medicine shows that teenagers who get five hours of sleep are 75% more likely to carry a weapon, 55% more likely to contemplate suicide, 52% more likely to smoke, and 70% more likely to binge drink than teenagers who get at least eight hours of sleep. Changing bell schedules in schools is a simple way to help teenagers’ sleeping problems and prevent these and many other dangerous behaviors.

I regularly get six or less hours of sleep each night. In fact, many of my friends and peers are in the same boat as I am. I’ll stay up late working on schoolwork or helping family around the house and be unable to go to bed early. When this is combined with waking up at or before 6:00 a.m. for school each morning, I end up sleep deprived, distracted, and with worse grades and behavior than I would receive had I gotten enough sleep.

The evidence for a change in the bell schedules to help students is overwhelming. It is simply wrong statistically and morally to have such an early start for school, especially when such an easy solution is obvious.