Analysis: Starting High School One Hour Later May Reduce Teen Traffic Accidents

In a study conducted by ScienceDaily, they hypothized that starting high shool one hour later may reduce adoloscent car crashes in the morning. When school started one hour later students averaged from 12 min to 30 min more sleep daily. The % of students who got at least eight hours of sleep in a school day increased 35.7 % to 50 %; students with nine hours of sleep increased 6.3 % to 10.8%. The average amount of sleep during day in the weekend decreased from 1.9 hours to 1.1 hours. Sleepy people in school decreased, according to students involved in the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Average crash rates for teen drivers in  two years after the change in start time decreased 16.5% compared to the two years before the change in school start. Students took tests which tested daytime functions in 1998 and 1999 in Kansas due to the results student had in the test , high schools and middle schools started one hour later. The conclusion from ScienceDaily was: "As a result, adolescents get an inadequate amount of sleep due to early school start times, which increases their daytime sleepiness and may in turn increase their odds of crashing their vehicles while driving." I think this article is trua and school not only in USA should follow the rule adopted in districts in Kansas. I think that educationally students will also improve if school starts some time later.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081215074351.htm
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