It is morning. The air outside is cold, but under the comforter I feel warm enough to hibernate through winter. Then the alarm rings. My face turns toward the sound, my brain aching from the noise, my breath catching on the near-freezing freshness of the air, and I pull myself under the covers again. My muscles contract and then relax, fatigue settling into every joint. And I think, if I could have anything in the world, if I could fix any problem, change one single thing… I would beg for just an hour’s worth of extra sleep this morning. Or I would ask for the entire world to fall asleep spontaneously for two hours. Or better yet, I would ask for a universal remote control that would allow me to pause time whenever I want. Then I would sleep right through. I swear to myself, I have never wanted anything more than that extra hour of sleep right now on this cold morning.
According to the National Sleep Foundation,  “sleep is vital to your well-being, as important as the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat.” Teens are among those least likely to get enough sleep. While they need on average nine and a half hours of sleep per night for optimal performance and development, teens average fewer than seven hours per school night by the end of high school.
“My sleeping schedule has just been super messed up due to late nights and early mornings,” junior Jessi Bland said. “When I’m tired, it’s super hard for me to function and think to my full ability.”
Piedmont students often forfeit their needed rest when they must choose between getting an extra hour of sleep, and finishing daytime activities.
“I definitely don’t get enough sleep,” freshman Elizabeth Langer said. “I think the only way I could get enough sleep is if I completely abandoned extracurricular activities.”
According to the National Sleep Foundation, biological sleep patterns shift toward later times during adolescence — meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00 pm. This also means that teens will naturally want to sleep later in the morning.
Efforts to address this epidemic of sleep deprivation have aided in the decisions for a new schedule next year, in which students are given an extra hour to sleep on Tuesdays and Fridays, among other changes. This change has sparked a school-wide debate over the difference an extra hour of sleep can make, and the effects of an irregular sleeping pattern on student stress.
“I usually feel like falling asleep in class by the second half of the second block of school,” junior Austin Willis said. “That extra hour of sleep sounds handy.”
Sophomore Julien Orban does not believe that students will reap the benefits from the new schedule they are anticipating.
“The schedule just gives students an excuse to go to bed later, and sleep in an extra hour,” Orban said.
Concerns over students’ sleep schedules have been raised as students worry that there will be negative effects next year when two out of five school days will start at 9:10 instead of 8:00.
“It will definitely be nice to have days where I can know the night before that I don’t have to get up before seven,” sophomore Meredith Aebi said, “but also since school won’t always start at the same time, I think some people will have irregular sleep patterns, which can be hard.”
Freshman Grace Foster researched the topic of sleep deprivation in her I-Search. Foster said that the body is regulated by the Circadian Rhythm.
“It’s a cycle of daily human functions,” Foster said. “So your body knows when to regulate body temperature, or when to be hungry, and when to be sleepy.”
This is important to teenagers and scheduling because there are specific times of the day when their bodies become sleepy.
“Your body releases this hormone called melatonin which makes you feel sleepy, at around 11:00 PM until 8:00 AM,” Foster said.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens’ natural sleep cycle puts them in conflict with school start times.
“Another thing that is really important is to have a sleep schedule that is regular so you are going to bed and waking up at the same time every day,” Foster said. “This could be a problem with the new schedule because your body doesn’t understand if it’s Tuesday and has to release melatonin at a different time.”
Irregularity in the Circadian Rhythm then causes more exhaustion in the day. According to the National Sleep Foundation, “s consistent sleep schedule will help you feel less tired since it allows your body to get in sync with its natural patterns.”
Though it is still uncommon, schools around the country are beginning to go by a later schedule, with winning results. A three-year study by the University of Minnesota surveyed over 9,000 students from eight different high schools with start times ranging from 7:30 AM to 8:55 AM. It found that core subject grades, performance in state and national tests, attendance rates, and reduced tardiness all showed significant improvements with start times of 8:35 AM or later.
“Finally, the number of car crashes for teen drivers from 16 to 18 years of age was significantly reduced by 70% when a school shifted start times from 7:35 AM to 8:55 AM,” according to the report.
Piedmont’s new school schedule was introduced, in part, to address the lack of sleep found among students. Only time will tell if it was the right decision.
Langer said that sleep deprivation goes beyond a simple change in schedule.
“Honestly, I think that right now there is so much stress and so much pressure on students that whatever schedule we have will end up with us not getting enough sleep,” Langer said.