Schools that have tried starting their school day at least 30 minutes later are discovering that the extra time leads to positive outcomes for students: reduced tardiness, increased alertness in class, and better moods are just a few of the improvements noted. A small study that explains why even a half hour makes a significant difference joins a “growing body of evidence that changing the start time for high schools is good for adolescents.” The key lies in bed—many teens have difficulty falling asleep before 11 p.m. and are likely to be in their deepest sleep around dawn. The interruption of getting up early, and thus being deprived of deep sleep, can leave one groggy.
The earbud-wearing, texting, multitasking average teenager may have her problems—but being well-adjusted psychologically isn’t necessarily one of them. According to recent psychological research, the dizzying array electronics and nonstop interactivity of today’s digital kids is not bad for their well-being. In fact, beyond the beeps and clicks, “terminally distracted” adolescents are gaining social skills, developing emotional bonds, forming their own identities, and learning to communicate effectively. Those who spend lots of time on social media sites often are healthier psychologically than their parents typically give them credit for. Go figure.
Emotions can cause our memory of events to be distorted, especially when those events involve negative emotions. Researchers who developed tests to help determine the level of emotion-induced false memory found that true memory levels are lowest, and false memory levels are highest, when an experience has such negative emotional qualities. But according to a new study, not everyone’s memory is affected the same. It seems inaccurate memories occur less often in children than in adults.
Related Links
- Study Shows Teens Benefit from Later School Day
This articles presents findings on the question of how starting the school day later affects teens’ well-being, including their academic performance.
(Source: American Psychological Association, July 5, 2010) - Are Networked Teens Healthier?
This article shows why assumptions that constant use of electronics and new media negatively impacts teenagers’ health are wrongheaded.
(Source: Chicago Tribune, July 20, 2010) - Adults Recall Negative Events Less Accurately Than Children, Study Finds
This article reveals that age plays a surprising role in how our memories are affected by experiences that involve negative emotions.
(Source: ScienceDaily, July 23, 2010)
Well put from a terrific blogger
Yes your flat screen is straight.
this is so true but confusing
Well… I think that the idea of schools starting later is a good idea; only no one wants to be at school all night. And, I think that the internet gives you knowledge no matter what site you’re on
This article was very interesting. It will now make me more aware of my psychological health.
I agree 100% with what this text is saying. Making school start a half an hour later is a great idea because it gives students more time to sleep, becuase of the lack of sleep they get from the night time
This article is very true and i agree with it 100% once someone (like me) is interuppted in their sleep, im very very what you call, “Groggy”. its anoying to wake up like that sometimes, espicially when i need my hours of sleep. im yawning as we speak.
waking up later is better to learn than waking up early because it is easier to learn when you get enough sleep. the reason we can learn better when we have had enough sleep is because we’re rested and can focus better that’s why it’s better to start school later than to start it earlier.
I think that this article helped me to better understand how sleep truely effects someone. I new some of the information (like how having less sleep can make a person cranky), but I didn’t know how, just by getting a half-hour of more sleep, a student becomes more alert and is then able to learn better.
Yeah, I agree. I’m almost 14 and everytime I get up before school in the morning, I end up being too tired. I start school around 7:45 but if it were too start arounf 8:15 I’d have so much more time to get comfortable in the morning befpre my daily education. Yes, this passage is right, I seem to have the most trouble getting up right around 6:00. I also agree on Social Media sites. Whereever I can talk or chat with my firends I can share whats going on with my life. alike from that, I have memories that bring out bad emotions and the whole memory seems obsolete. This is a very informational article. Thank you! 😀
I agree with the studies I would be way less tired in the morning and it would make concentrating easier. Also cugle jutt. (|o|){mum)But that would give me a half hour less of time to screw around outside of school… Ahh no your right though I like sleeping.
I think we should start later because when we get more sleep we are more likely to pay more attention in class instaed of doze off in class. plus teenagers normallly go to bed later than little kids do. for example i normally dont get that tired until 11:00 or 10:00, so it would be easier to have school a little bit later because then we will be much more happier and not upset or in an awful mood. then when we are in a better mood we’ll be able to listen to our lessons in school and to listen a lot better to our teachers. i know i will be a lot happier if class started 30 or 25 miutes later because i have to get up earlier than most people because i live 15 to 20 minutes away from school. the reason why is beacuse i go to school in milwaukee and i live in glendale wisconsin. onee last reason why it would be great to have school start later is because we will be able to comminicate better with people bettter. noone likes to talk to people who are tired and are in an awful mood because they dont want to talk and theyre an god awful and theyre be boring and not themselves. you like people who are fun and are always happy and very nice. plus you always have a better memory of things wneh you are not tired and unahppy because you dont like paying attention to things or activities when your really tired and about to fall asleep. these reasons are why i want school to start a lot later than we usually do.
This Article is helpful, since it tells how teens have improved when school is 30 minutes later.If my school was the same way, I think that would he my like the article says it helps other teens
Infact, this is right. Every morning I get up around 6:30 AM. You wouldn’t want to see me in the morning then, because I’m crabby, i have 45 minutes to get ready for school, and at times it really is horrible! Adding a whole half hour would be great, i would be able to sleep in to 7:00 and have a great ammount of time to get set for school. However, I’ve never been tardy this year, so I’d probably be earlier than usual with the extra time. Not only that, I could probably grab a coffee at my local coffee shop before school and get extra ready for the day. Also, the socail media of today, like facebook is a pretty good way to keep in touch with your friends. Especially if you’re a teenager, because everyone has something going on in their life. If it truly is good for an adolescent then I’d be happy to keep on doing what I am doing. The last thing I see it state here is about emotions. I do have a lot of bad memories, and i don’t remember them to fondly because when I do remember them I do not want to think about it and the memory becomes blurry. This is a great article however, now i feel more informed about this.
I am Very much agreeing with this study and all that stuff.
i would agree that teens do better at school if they have had an extra half hour of sleep. Maryland ave school should start at 8:00 instead of 7:30
Infact, this is right. Every morning I get up around 6:30 AM. You wouldn’t want to see me in the morning then, because I’m crabby, i have 45 minutes to get ready for school, and at times it really is horrible! Adding a whole half hour would be great, i would be able to sleep in to 7:00 and have a great ammount of time to get set for school. However, I’ve never been tardy this year, so I’d probably be earlier than usual with the extra time. Not only that, I could probably grab a coffee at my local coffee shop before school and get extra ready for the day. Also, the socail media of today, like facebook is a pretty good way to keep in touch with your friends. Especially if you’re a teenager, because everyone has something going on in their life. If it truly is good for an adolescent then I’d be happy to keep on doing what I am doing. The last thing I see it state here is about emotions. I do have a lot of bad memories, and i don’t remember them to fondly because when I do remember them I do not want to think about it and the memory becomes blurry. This is a great article however, now i feel more informed about this.
(P.S) I hope this posts because this is my 3rd try)
I don’t want to lose my memoriesss!!! TT^TT
Elephants are blue
Schools should start later in the morning OH YA!!!!!!!!!
Schools should start later in the morning OH YA!!!!!!!!!!
school starts later
i would like to know more about later start times for school effected students. any ideas for a place??
who is the author and publisher of this
No because kids that are usually tardy will find a way to remain tardy
does anyone know where to get a good muffin?