The official student newspaper of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire since 1923.

The Spectator

The official student newspaper of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire since 1923.

The Spectator

The official student newspaper of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire since 1923.

The Spectator

COLUMN: Study shows several benefits of later starts for students

On Monday morning, the alarm will be buzzing at 7 a.m. so I have enough time to take a shower and eat some cereal before heading down the hill for an 8 o’clock class.

Unless there are strict penalties for skipping this class, the attendance rate will be worse than average. From the professor’s point of view, the majority of the students who make it to class will have bags under their eyes and nod off during the lecture.

Though some students manage to schedule themselves away from seeing the sun rise, most get stuck with at least one early class at some point.

By holding classes this early, schools are working against student’s normal sleep patterns.

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The solution is simple.

Classes should start an hour or two later.

A study released last week by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement shows that Minneapolis high school students are getting more sleep and have better attendance since several of their schools began starting at 8:40 a.m. instead of 7:15 a.m. four years ago.

The new research also found students’ grades were not affected significantly by the later start time.

Students consistently got an extra hour of sleep every night over the course of the study and student focus group participants told researchers they were no longer struggling to get out of bed in the morning.

The study also showed that more students stayed in the same school for at least two years and the number of students transferring out of the district declined.

Medical research shows that teenagers experience a biological change in their sleep patterns as they enter puberty. The change causes them to stay up late and can affect their performance in school.

Most college student’s sleep patterns don’t change much immediately after high school – if anything they’re staying up even later as they discover what life is like without parental oversight.

So please, Ms. Registrar, don’t start our classes at 8 a.m. so we can enjoy the positive results from later start times that Minneapolis high schools have witnessed.

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COLUMN: Study shows several benefits of later starts for students