By Jocelyn Anderson
We often hear teens complain about getting up early for school. Adults tend to see these complaints as teens being lazy so they can be in bed all day. However, there is actually more to it than them just being lazy. Many doctors and scientists have shown that there are real biological reasons why teens have trouble waking up early.
Wendy Troxel, a sleep scientist, states in her TED Talk Why Schools Should Start Later for Teens that, “During puberty, teens experience a delay in their biological clock, which determines when we feel most awake and most sleepy.” This suggests that it might not actually be teens’ fault that they have trouble waking up in the morning. Their schedules are pushed back, and they just don’t wake up like adults.
Many adults blame teens’ tiredness on staying up later because they’re talking to friends online, watching TikToks, or playing video games. Troxel points out, “Teenagers’ bodies wait to start releasing melatonin until around 11pm, which is two hours later than adults or younger children.” This means they go to bed later, meaning they need to sleep later in the day to feel rested.
Teens’ bodies just aren’t ready to go to sleep until around 11pm, so they aren’t staying up just because they want to but because their melatonin hasn’t kicked in yet.
Knowing this, it is clear why students at high schools are so tired and not ready to learn in the mornings. Schools should take action and move start times of schools so students get more sleep. This will help students get more out of their school day and be able to learn and focus better, resulting in increased academic success.
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