You're lost in the world of dreams and sleep. You roll over, smiling as you come across a swimming pool filled with chocolate. And then, your wonderful dream becomes a nightmare when someone is screaming, "Get up!" It's just what every teenager goes through each morning! Now, there seems to be one school that finally understands that requiring teens to show up at 9 am is not just cruel but also harmful to both the kids and the school. The Monkseaton High School in North Tyneside, Britain, recently decided to experiment to see if there is any difference in student behavior if they just pushed back the start of their day by one hour, from 9 am to 10 am. And the results are surprising. Since carrying out the later start, Monkseaton has seen a 28% drop in truancy, even hardly any lateness, and best of all, higher test scores. One of the reasons is that the teenagers are much happier to have the extra hour of sleep, but there is also a scientific reason behind why they need the extra sleep. The school's decision to push back the time was based on the research done by Oxford Professor Russell Foster, who pointed out that teenagers and adults have different sleep cycles, explaining why teenagers go to bed late and wake up late. While adults are wide awake and ready at 8 am, teenagers are not fully awake until 10 am, sometimes even noon. Teachers may argue that their students perform better in the morning, but in fact, it is because they are in the zone while their students are still sleepy, making the students easier to control. Memory tests prove that the more difficult classes should be in the afternoon when teenagers are most wide awake. The Monkseaton school officials are encouraged by the results and plan on voting to make it a permanent change. What can we learn from the passage?
Teenagers and adults have the same sleep cycle. Teenagers are fully awake at 10 am. Teenagers are much happier to sleep than study. Teenagers need the extra sleep also for a scientific reason.