Weekday Schedule: Wake up late, rub eyes, fall back asleep, wake up, and realize I only have five minutes to get dressed, eat and run out the door half awake. It seems that plenty of students have this morning routine too. We wake up too early, stay up too late and in reality are earning ourselves a severe sleep debt which we attempt to pay back on the weekends. Our endocrine systems release melatonin (which is responsible for the sleepy feeling we get) from about 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. This probably explains why students wander in to class and fall right asleep. So a few of the students are sleeping and the ones that are awake aren’t learning properly because their brains haven’t been “turned on” yet. According to the research done by the Center for Applied Research (CAREI) in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota, 20% of students sleep during the first two hours of school. These sleep deprived teens become more likely to have difficulty relating to both their parents and friends as well as more likely to suffer from depression or do drugs. After a survey of schools in two Minneapolis showed that later school times by an hour showed that over 92% of parents preferred these later start times. These statistics were received after a year of the later schooling in place. The two schools reported getting higher overall grades, less dropouts, and less reports of depression. Our school could immensely benefit from this study and finally put it into effect to the gratitude of the students. – 20% of all high school students fall asleep in school. – Teens need nine hours of sleep each night to avoid behaviors associated with sleep deprivation. – Discourage caffeine consumption in the afternoon and evening. – Discourage taking naps. – Additional weekend sleep does not offset the effects of sleep deprivation.