For sleepy teens, bell rings too soon
Biology, busy lives have schools debating start times
By Karen Gutierrez
The Cincinnati Enquirer
At 6:45 a.m., school bus No. 14 appears half empty. But that's an illusion. Look down.
There, crammed horizontally onto the narrow bus seats, are sleeping adolescents. They are curled in the fetal position, sweat-shirt hoods pulled over eyes, headphones covering ears. Anything for an extra 30 minutes.
This is how it goes every morning at CampbellCountyHigh School, which starts at 7:30 a.m. Tiredness that begins on the bus spills into the school day. Heads start hitting desks.
The problem is so pervasive that last year, Campbell County High called for a later start time in the morning. That request, which the school board is likely to consider next month as part of a districtwide proposal, has touched off a controversy being played out across the country.
Some blame teenagers themselves or their parents for a lack of discipline that leads to sleepiness. At two public forums in CampbellCounty, those opposed to a later start time said school has always started early and everybody survives. Besides, too many after-school activities now depend on dismissal by 2:30 p.m.
Those on the other side point to sleep research about young people.
Teenagers need at least nine hours a night, and because of natural changes in body rhythms, they can't fall asleep as early as younger kids. Yet their schools almost always start first. This contradiction has fueled the call for reform.
In Congress, a resolution sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-California, would encourage all the country's schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. So far, at least 34 districts in 19 states have made changes in response to sleep research findings, Lofgren's office says.
Around Greater Cincinnati, MountHealthyHigh School changed its time from 7:30 to 7:50 a.m. two years ago. It's impossible to gauge the impact of a 20-minute difference, Principal Jack Fisher says. But for reasons he can't pinpoint, daily attendance has increased from about 90 to 94 percent since the change, despite budget cuts that eliminated bus service last year.
A handful of other districts in the region, including Lakota, Goshen, Talawanda and Edgewood, have discussed start-time changes but not made any plans. In Ohio, bus logistics are a potential obstacle. State law requires public school districts to transport private-school students, so start-time changes could create havoc with bus routes.
It's the hormones
So why are mornings so hard? Studies have established two biological explanations.
First, teenagers need as much sleep - about 9 1/2 hours a night - as younger children. Secondly, hormonal changes cause adolescents and teens to feel sleepy later in the evening, which pushes back their bedtimes. For them, these sleep hormones don't return to daytime levels until about 8 a.m. - a time when most are already in school.
Devon Graves, a junior at ConnerHigh School in Hebron, is certain biology plays a role in her tiredness.
A drama student and keyboardist for her church band with a 3.9 grade point average, Devon gets up around 5:30 a.m. every day. Her busy schedule contributes to her exhaustion, but she has trouble even when she goes to bed early.
"I race home and I jump into bed and I'll lay there - because I know I need to get to sleep - and I'll be twitching or rolling over or hearing every sound in my house," she says.
Last week during Latin, her first-period class, Devon finished her work early, fell asleep at her desk and had a dream.
"I woke up, and I was really scared. I forgot where I was," she says. "My friend was like, 'C'mon, the bell just rang.' "
It's the TV
Of course, the teen sleep dynamic goes beyond biology. Other factors include after-school jobs, 3 p.m. power naps and the growing prevalence of phones, TV sets and video games in bedrooms.
Jennifer Smith, a CampbellCounty freshman caught napping in class recently, says she wasn't feeling well that morning. But then again, she often gets sleepy in algebra. The teacher's low, even voice is like a sedative, she says, and there is little action in the class.
Jennifer sometimes hits the sack by 9 p.m., she and her mother say. But recently, allergy medication has messed with her schedule. Also, two weeks of daily cheerleading practice was causing her to get home as late as 6:30 p.m, pushing back her bedtime.
Then there's the boyfriend. He's earning his GED at an alternative school, Jennifer says, and he stays up very late with a brother who works at night. For a while this semester, the boyfriend was sending text messages to Jennifer's cell phone in the middle of the night, and she would return the call on the cordless in her bedroom.
When her mother, Debbie Smith, caught her talking at 2 a.m. a few weeks ago, she took away the phone and the jack.
Even with eight hours of sleep, though, Jennifer says she isn't ready for the 6 a.m. alarm. Sometimes she runs for the bus with yesterday's makeup still on her face.
"She's always complaining that it's too early for her to get up," Mrs. Smith says.
Likewise for J.J. O'Neil, a junior at CampbellCountyHigh School. He also was observed sleeping in class.
The main demand on J.J.'s time is his job. Every day from 3 to 7 p.m., he works in medical records at a doctor's office.
"I'm money-hungry," he says. "I'm saving most of it for college. I don't want to get student loans."
His parents set a bedtime of around 10:30 p.m. But sometimes when they think he's asleep, he's playing video games instead, says his mother, Myra O'Neil.
"I think sometimes he has a hard time unwinding," she says.
At school, J.J. says he starts out foggy and gets progressively alert, a pattern reflected in his grades.
He has a 75 percent in psychology, his first class of the day, followed by an 80 percent in U.S. history, an 85 percent in financial planning and a 90 percent in chemistry, his last class.
His dad has been known to pull him out of bed by the ankles or drag a water-soaked hand across his face, a tradition the family calls "wet face."
Some say this parental role may be more important than schools realize.
In 2002, the WoodridgeSchool District near Akron switched back to a start time of 7:50 a.m. for its 950 middle- and high-schoolers, after three years at 8:35 a.m.
Coincidentally or not, the number of morning tardies actually dropped by about 10 percent after the return to an earlier time, Principal Phil Hatton says. His theory: At 7:30 a.m., more working parents are still home to drag their kids out of bed.
Apologetic nappers
Some teachers at Campbell County High make sleepers stand in the back of the room. Others call their parents or require the students to stay after school. Some simply leave them to their naps, preferring to focus on more motivated classmates.
For geometry teacher Pat Sears, two or three extremely sleepy students are so bothersome that she sometimes builds classes around keeping them awake.
She'll have students turn their desks sideways and pair up to work problems. Or she'll have them assist her with demonstrations. She once assigned sleepy students to stand around the room, their heads representing numbers, and asked the class to imagine a geometric plane that would encompass them.
Not every teacher wants Campbell County High to start later. Some dread the effect on dismissal times. Others say a delay of 30 to 60 minutes won't make much difference to the tiredest students.
But others insist it's time for change.
"I'm a morning person," Sears says. "I'm here at 6:30 a.m. But I don't think that's best for our kids."