Should Student Get More Sleep

Do Students Need More Sleep?

Austin Carr

11/9/16

English 101

History:

In the early 1900’s when school became mandatory almost every kid that went to school worked on a farm or lived on one. Schools started around 9 a.m. The start times of school made the kids get up earlier in the morning than they originally did because the kids still had to collect eggs, milk cows or just do their simple chores. Also the kids rode horses to school or walked and they couldn’t head to class in the dark it had to be lite outside in order for the kids to head to school. Once the kids got off school they would work on the farm for an hour or so then go to sleep for a few hours. The kids would get back up and finish their daily chores then. As a lady said, “A typical day would begin early in the morning when children did their chores before school. Then they walked or rode horses or bicycles to school.” Kids back then did get the correct amount of sleep before school became mandatory but then had to get up earlier in order to complete all of their chores and get to school. Back in the early 1900’s school was started early in the morning around 9 a.m. which is the appropriate time to start school. 90% of people lived off of farms when schools were just becoming mandatory by the government with it being mandatory to show up to class.

Current:

Nowadays most students in junior high all the way through college have their first class around 7 a.m. Kids on average typically go to bed at 11 p.m. which means if they have class at 7 in the morning they will only be getting 7 or less hours of sleep. Tests show that in order to be successful at school students need 9 hours of sleep. Also since the 90’s sleep researchers have seen that these early school hours are harming children. Some of the impacts include, “weight gain and eating disorders and increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular problems, and diabetes; reduced immunity; depression; anxiety; substance abuse; mood swings; behavior problems; suicidal ideation; and potential impacts on brain development.” Also the safety for the students can be quite scary. For instance, kids are