Tired school kids
Studies warn of an unhealthy sleep deficit
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point eight. Tired children and young people sit in German classrooms. Studies show that classes should start later. The reason: students fall asleep too late in the evening.
Eight o’clock, class begins. In Germany and many other countries, the bell rings for the first lesson. By then at the latest, students should sit in their seats and listen carefully to the teacher. Some schools start even earlier with the “zero” lesson. But for most children and young people, this is torture, because their brains are not yet receptive, and this in turn is due to too little sleep.
Hormones ensure that students fall asleep late
“Then don’t go to bed so late!”, teenagers often hear when they’re sitting at the breakfast table, drowsy, or falling asleep doing their homework in the afternoon. In fact, pubescents can do very little about it. Their biorhythm works differently than that of adults. Not only do they need more sleep overall, the hormones during puberty also ensure that they only get tired around 11 p.m. and can sleep at all.
They suffer all the more when classes start early in the morning. A vicious circle that cannot be broken. Because they have to get up early every day, but still cannot sleep earlier in the evening because the hormones are going haywire, an unhealthy sleep deficit gradually accumulates. Because many do not get the eight to ten hours of sleep that young people of this age need.
Great Britain and Finland start later
Reason enough for some countries to react. School in Great Britain and Finland does not start until nine o’clock. In the US state of California, students in public high schools do not have to go to school until 8:30 a.m.
However, this does not necessarily solve the problem. Most parents work these days and often have no choice but to wake their children up so that everyone can leave the house on time and they can still accompany their children to school, especially when they are younger. The later school starts, the later the parents start their jobs.
Why sleep is so important
Sleeping is particularly important for the brain: what has been learned is processed and consolidated. How different studies show that sleep is also important for the regulation of emotions: children who have had a good night’s sleep are more balanced, can concentrate better, are less likely to be disturbed and are more helpful. In addition, lack of sleep in adolescents promotes the development of diseases such as diabetes type II and obesity. After all: Missed sleep can be made up for at least in the short term – within a day. Nevertheless, a sleep deficit builds up for many students over the course of the school and work week.
Source: www.derstandart.at