A 9 o'clock bedtime would be helpful for Lindsey Bush, 16, asophomore at Fairfax High who rises in the dark at 5 a.m. to get toher religion class by 7:20 a.m. But with three hours of AdvancedPlacement history homework, she goes to bed a lot later.
The result: She's tired all the time.
Fairfax County students are known for striving, for loading up onhomework-heavy advanced classes and for pushing themselves in sportsand other activities. Easing the wear and tear on almost 50,000Fairfax teenagers by helping them refuel with an extra hour of sleepis the goal of a five-year effort to push back high school starttimes.
But many teenagers, even if they admit to drifting off in class,are reluctant to change their schedules, even for an extra hour ofsleep. There is only so much time in the day for cherished after-school activities -- a roster that could include swim team,English Honors Society, Science Olympiad, Science Fair, HistoryHonors Society, Model United Nations, junior varsity Math League orall of the above.
The current schedule 'is easier to live with,' said Lindsey, whobalances church activities with homework, her school newspaper andfamily time.
Almost 2,000 parents and some students turned out at sevencommunity meetings across the county last week to register theirconcerns about or support for the initiative, which would alter theschedules for all 169,000 Fairfax students, not just high-schoolers. Results from a school system survey on the proposal willbe released next week, but some teens are speaking out against theplan that is supposed to help them.
Arvin Ahmadi, the student representative on the School Board,reported that, defying all stereotypes of sleep-craving adolescents,a strong majority of the School Advisory Council opposed rearrangingstart times.
The board will take up the issue at a work session next Monday.Several board members said they are likely to delay the decision foranother year or abandon the effort entirely, given the range andcomplexity of concerns that have emerged since the transportationdepartment said in January that it could make the necessary changesin the bus schedule at no additional cost. Opponents have organizedon every side, citing problems with scheduling sports activities,day-care plans, work schedules or traffic.
Quillan Heim, 15, a ninth-grader at Fairfax High, is among theteens who support the change. He said his energy level is lowersince he switched this year from a middle school schedule thatallowed him to sleep an hour longer. He needs that energy topractice the cello and row on the crew team. 'He's way grumpier at 6a.m. than he is at 7 a.m.,' added his mother, Pam Jones, who alsosupports the plan.
Under the proposal, the first bell for most high schools wouldmove to 8:30 from 7:20 a.m. Elementary schools would start between7:50 and 9:25, instead of between 8 and 9:15, and most middleschools would start at 9:40, rather than between 7:20 and 8:05.
Proponents say that the plan needs work but that activities canbe rescheduled and students will be more alert and efficient. Theysay the health benefits outweigh the difficulties, particularlygiven signs of strain that many teens are showing. Thirty-onepercent of teens in a 2008 Fairfax County survey said they hadexperienced depression, a slightly higher rate than the nationalaverage.
'Our expectations are so high, and getting into college is socompetitive and hard,' said Phyllis Payne, co-founder of the parent-led initiative to give teens more sleep. 'If you are well-rested,the chances of you dealing with the stress or the pressure is muchbetter. One night, if you do not sleep well, you are cranky or moreeasily lose your temper or get frustrated. For them, the sleepdeprivation is chronic every single day.'
Helene Emsellem, director of the Center for Sleep and WakeDisorders in Chevy Chase, said research shows that teenagers need atleast 81/2 hours of sleep to be alert and that sleep-deprived teensare less likely to use good judgment, drive safely or succeed inschool.
'The restorative nature of sleep crosses the boundaries of mood,cognition, learning and weight control,' she said.
The School Board must weigh the stresses and well-being of itshigh school students and the rest of the community. 'We are going tobe cautious about moving forward with anything. . . . I don't thinkwe will be ready for that in March,' said board Chairman Daniel G.Storck (Mount Vernon).
