Heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes. All of these can be linked to long term sleep deprivation. So why is it that teenagers are asked to wake up earlier than 7:00am 5 days a week?

According to The National Sleep Foundation, biologically your bodies tend to sleep later than 11:00pm, and teenagers developing brains need an average of 8 to 10 hours. So a high school student falls asleep at 11:00pm and wakes up at 7:00am. That’s the 8 hours they need, right? Only school starts at 7:05am. Plus a high school student needs time in the morning to get ready and make the drive to school. So they are typically waking up anywhere between 5:30am to 6:00am. Thats only 6 and a half to 7 hours of sleep, and thats if a student actually can fall asleep by 11:00pm.

This lack of sleep results in your immune system not producing enough infection-fighting antibodies. Lack of sleep during the night can also raise blood pressure during the day. Not getting 8 hours of sleep can actually effect your central nervous system, causing a negative effect on your short and long term memory. This makes it harder to learn what’s being told to you.

So with all of these symptoms of sleep deprivation, why start school so early? Because if school started later, the Pinellas County School Board would have to pay 30% more for transportation and some parents would have to adjust their schedules for getting their child to school. Are these small advantages worth the long term health effects on your typical student? I say no, but it’s not up to me.