I have chosen to research this topic, because I do have a personal connection. I believe that most people actually have a personal connection to this subject. The majority of people have trouble sleeping. It has become an even bigger problem with adolescents. I personally feel that starting school early in the day is asking a lot for students like myself. I have notice

I know that this is a personal connection to me. On average, I think that I probably get about six- and a half hours of sleep on a school night. I sometimes find myself extremely tired the next day. Personally, I do not feel motivated the next morning and I drag the entire day. I believe that I speak for many students across the nation, when I say, " I need more sleep!"

So now that we know why we need sleep and how much of it we need, we can discuss why we might not be getting enough of it. There are many causes of sleep deprivation. These include insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy. These are sleep disorders. However, we may also be deprived of sleep on account of a busy schedule, not allowing us to get to bed on time.

d that it is very difficult for me to perform so early in the morning. This is why students are falling asleep in schools. I sometimes have trouble sleeping as well.

I have found a solution that has proven to be quite effective in solving the problem of sleep deprivation in teenagers. This solution is a later start time for adolescents. Many schools around the nation start school at about 7:30 a.m. Teenagers all over the nation drag their tired bodies in to school, barely taking in the lesson that their teacher is trying so desperately to get through to them. They drool on the desks and yawn uncontrollably. A later start time for students has actually been tested on students in many schools across the nation. Though it came out to be quite effective, overall, there were some disadvantages to a late start time in schools. First of all, the school needs to make sure that they are educated in advance of what is entailed in making this change. If not, the change may have some negative effects. Kyla L. Wahlstrom on the Minneapolis School District did one study in 1997. They changed the start time of its seven high schools from 7:15 AM to 8:40 AM. The dismissal time also changed to 3:20 from 1:45. Though there were not many disadvantages to this change, there were some things that did not change at all. For example, the study revealed only a slight improvement in grades earned overall. Also, some students complained that they did not like the change, because they got out of school at a later time than before. The advantages of this change in start time were actually quite overwhelming. Minneapolis high school students got an hour's more sleep each school night or obtain five more hours' sleep per week than students whose high schools began earlier than the Minneapolis high school. This is a significant advantage. High school aged students need more sleep as it is. A later start time gives them this extra hour that they need. There were many psychological advantages to this later start time as well. For example, this study showed that students who have a later start time report fewer depressive feelings and behaviors and less sleepiness overall. Fewer students reported falling asleep in class, arriving late to school because of oversleeping, and feeling tired during the day. Overall, this study proved that it gives the students a better chance to create their own sleep rhythm, therefore getting more sleep time in each week. (Whalstrom, 2001)

Another solution to sleep deprivation is napping and even sleeping in on weekends. We have all done it. However, for a teenager who is not getting enough sleep. I have found that it is not a very effective solution to sleep deprivation. Many people do benefit from very short naps. Teenagers may benefit from a short after-school nap. If they sleep in one or two hour

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Approximate Word count = 2422
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)