John CarterGreen GroupCritical Thinking Paper

How Adolescent Students Suffer from Sleep DeprivationCritical Thinking PaperJohn CarterEnglish 93/31/2015Green Group

The Board of Education must push back school start times because teenagers secrete growth hormones which block the secretion of melatonin, insufficient sleep induces hunger and appetite, which often results in weight gain, and students who do not get enough sleep get worse grades than those who do. Teenage students across the continent are suffering from sleep deprivation because of early school start times.High schools students are being affected the most by early start times. Many teenagers are unable to get enough sleep with the current school start times because of a bodily function known as circadian rhythm delay. Circadian rhythm is the bodys internal clock that lets the body know when its time to sleep and when its time to wake up. When its time to sleep, the body releases melatonin, a hormone which causes drowsiness. During puberty, growth hormones are released which delays the secretion of melatonin. This delay makes it hard for growing teens to go to sleep and wake up early. As a result of this, the average teen only sleeps 7.1 hours each night (Jane Bianchi). Mary Carskadon, a specialist in adolescent sleep who directs the Bradley Laboratory, found at a special sleep camp that the average teenager needs 9 hours and 12 minutes of sleep each night. With school starting earlier as students get older, the amount of sleep becomes more difficult to achieve. As students undergo circadian rhythm delay, early start times, and ever increasing homework, they are suffering from sleep deprivation. In addition to academic distress, sleep deprivation has been linked with depression, the decreased capacity to stay alert, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and mental impairment (Jill Pertler). These consequences can cause serious complications in the future, and may result in missed opportunities. For example, if in the future one suffers from high blood pressure, he or she would have to be careful about what they eat. If one had a heart attack he or she may be at greater risk for a second one and possibly death. Researchers in the United Kingdom have found that just seven days of getting fewer than six hours of sleep can have destructive effects on the human body. The researchers reported that the blood samples taken from the subjects showed more than 700 gene alterations due solely to sleep deprivation. Although the researchers do not fully understand the role of every gene which underwent an alteration, they are certain some seriously affect the inflammatory, immune and stress responses. These affects may be, in part, why sleep deprivation is linked with high blood pressure, heart attack, and obesity. Colin Smith, a professor at the University of Surrey, remarked that sleep is critical to rebuilding and maintaining a functional state, all kinds of damage appear to occur. The effect sleep deprivation has on the body makes participating in school extremely difficult and may permanently hinder the bodys internal functions.Scientists have been conducting studies on the subject of sleep deprivation for as many as 121 years, when the Russian scientist, Marie de Manacine, studied the effects sleep deprivation has on puppies. They have found that later school start times cause a reduction in sleep deprivation which correlates positively with attendance rates. In a study conducted in 1997, Minneapolis became the first major metropolitan area to launch a system-wide change. The citys seven high schools moved their start times back an hour and 25 minutes. Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) are monitoring the results. They report that attendance is up significantly on the new schedule, and fewer students arrive at school late (National Sleep Foundation). It appears as if this experiment proved beneficial and had a positive effect on the students participation in school. However effective this change was, not too many other counties have followed. In 2011-2012, the average school start time across all 18,360 public high schools was 7:59 a.m. (Schools and Staffing Survey). This is still extremely early, leaving high school students tired and groggy (Jane Bianchi).As sleep deprivation takes a toll on students, the average sleep most teenagers get is insufficient, with more than a quarter of teenagers sleeping 6 hours or less. In a study where school start times were moved from 7:15 a.m. to 8:40 a.m., each student got five more hours of sleep each week. Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement compared the students grades three years before and three years after the system wide change, and found that they showed a trend of improvement. If other counties followed in the footsteps of Minneapolis and pushed back their start times, based on data extrapolation, they would see better attendance and a higher average GPA (Lynne Lamberg). The director of the Sleep, Metabolism, and Health Center at the University of Chicago, Van Cauter, says that there is no doubt that insufficient sleep promotes hunger and appetite, which can cause excessive food intake. For growing teenagers, this can be especially detrimental to their body image. When teenagers dont get the recommended 9 hours and 12 minutes of sleep their growing bodies need; they over produce a hormone called ghrelin which is the main hunger-stimulating hormone (Duval, Sylviane). Research shows that when participants didnt get enough sleep, they consumed more carbohydrates and gained almost two pounds over a five-day period. When the participants got the recommended amount of sleep, they reduced their intake of carbohydrates and did not gain as much weight. Van Cauter says that sleep deprivationactivates a small part of the hypothalamus, the region of the brain involved in appetite regulation. She adds, We are looking at endocannabinoids, which are increased in the afternoon in people who are sleep-deprived. These are the hormones responsible for eating for pleasure. These endocannabinoids and the increased ghrelin hormone levels in sleep-deprived subjects cause weight gain in teenagers who are already eating more than usual. This situation can be a recipe for disaster. If school start times are not pushed back to allow teenagers to get the healthy amount of sleep their growing bodies need, the students could suffer from permanent damage on an internally. Sleep deprivation may cause permanent cell damage and even the death of neurons in the brain (National Institutes of Health). How could schools, knowing of the permanent consequences that come with chronic sleep deprivation, allow start times to be so early as to make it virtually impossible for the average teenager to get enough sleep? The brain of a teenager is constantly changing and developing, making adolescence the worst time to put added stress on the mind. As the brain develops, the fibers connecting nerve cells are wrapped in a protein that greatly increases the speed at which sections of the brain can work in tandem. Additionally, reproductive hormones, which are responsible for sex-related growth and overall social behavior, are forming. Parts of the brain that are involved in keeping emotional, impulsive responses in check are still maturing and an imbalance caused by sleep deprivation may augment the impulse to respond emotionally in certain situations. Studies of children and adolescents have found that sleep deprivation can increase impulsive behaviorAdequate sleep is central to physical and emotional health (NIMH). These adolescent brain developments further prove how detrimental sleep deprivation is to teenagers.The Board of Education must push back start times in order for students to get the necessary amount of sleep needed to stay healthy. Teenagers are growing and natural hormonal imbalances make it harder to fall asleep. The director of the Sleep, Metabolism and Health Center at the University of Chicago says that, there is no doubt that insufficient sleep promotes hunger and appetite, which can cause excessive food intake resulting in weight gain. One study showed that those students with Cs, Ds and Es got about 25 fewer minutes of sleep and went to bed an average of 40 minutes later than A and B students. The Board of Education in every county across the country must push back school start times in order to allow students to get the necessary amount of sleep needed to remain healthy; physically and mentally (Duval, Sylviane).

Works CitedBianchi, Jane. "The Teen Who Woke Up Her School." Scholastic Choices. Sep. 2014: 8+. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.Duval, Sylviane. "Most High School Students Are Sleep Deprived." Phys.org. Science X Network, 5 Jan. 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.