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No More Zombies
Dawn is breaking as zombies rise from their slumber. They groan and roll out of bed,
fumbling through their morning routines before shuffling onto transports. These zombies are
actually students dragging themselves to high school. By the time these sleep-deprived students
start their day at school, they are already exhausted. They fall asleep in class, express foul
moods, and perform less than their best on examinations. How do we cure this sleep-deprived
zombie epidemic? The solution is simple. Mandatory siestas should become a part of every high
school student’s schedule. Teenagers’ unique biological clocks, early school start times, busy
schedules and homework demands all contribute to students deprived of essential sleep.
Biological Clocks
For years parents have observed a pattern among teenagers: an inability to go to sleep at
night followed by profound drowsiness on waking. This observation has been corroborated in
research studies conducted at sleep laboratories at Stanford and Brown Universities (Spinks 1).
Humans have circadian rhythms which are biological clocks that regulate people’s peak points
and low points. One circadian rhythm regulates a person’s sleep and wake cycle (Feldman 151).
Sleep researchers Mary Carskadon of Brown University and Bill Dement of Stanford noted that
teenagers have what is called a “phase delay.” Their biological clocks sometimes act against the
sleep-wake cycle, keeping them alert at night when they should be falling asleep (Spinks 1).
Carskadon discovered that during adolescence, teenagers actually need more sleep than babies
and young children- approximately 9 hours of sleep a night on average (2). Dement, who
founded the sleep research laboratory at Stanford University, noted that teenagers typically get
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about an hour to an hour and a half less sleep per night than they need. Carskadon stated that
teenagers experience a sleep trough in the mid-afternoon and then perk up at night, even without
having a nap (Spinks 2). Medical research has shown that teens have a natural ‘late-to-bed, lateto-rise’ sleep pattern which results from the maturation of their endocrine system. The brain
chemical, melatonin, which is responsible for sleepiness, is secreted during the onset of puberty
until late teen years from approximately 11:00 PM until approximately 8:00 AM, nine hours
later. This secretion is based on their circadian rhythms, meaning that teens are not able to fall
asleep much before 11:00 PM and their brains will remain in sleep mode until about 8:00 AM,
regardless of when they went to bed (Ross 1). The unique biological clocks of teenagers
definitely play a major role in contributing to high school students’ sleep deprivation.
School Start Times
Using good sleep habits is a practice that is particularly difficult for teenagers. Schools in
many districts start as early as 7:15 am, which is too early a time for teens to get a full 9 hours of
sleep (O’Connor 1). On August 19, 2013, US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, began a
lively debate when he tweeted, “Let teens sleep more, start school later.” Later in an interview on
NPR’s the Diane Rehm Show, Duncan said, “There’s a lot of research and common sense that a
lot of teens struggle to get up at 6 in the morning to get on the bus or 5:30 in the morning to get
on the bus.” He added, “So often in education, we design school systems that work for adults and
not for kids” (2).
Other Factors Affecting Teenager’s Sleep
Biological clocks, coupled with both school and personal demands, lead teens to have irregular
sleep patterns. Extracurricular activities such as sports, yearbook, and community service along
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with schoolwork, combined with a teenagers’ desire to have some free time at the end of the day,
are contributing factors to teenager’s sleep deprivation. Evening use of electronics such as
computers, tablets, and cellular phones are also a factor. As a result, teens typically stay up late,
and when they can, sleep in late (Murray 1). One study found that only 15% of teens reported
sleeping 8 ½ hours on school nights. This affects the quality of their sleep and muddles their
biological clocks even more (Teens and Sleep 1).
Afternoon Naps
In 2013, an innovative movement was begun at enlightened companies. Napping during
work hours has been initiated at companies such as Google, The Huffington Post, Proctor &
Gamble and the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team (Dvorsky 3; Stump 1). This new movement to incorporate afternoon siestas into the work day is based on several decades of sleep
research (Dvorsky 3). Not only has research shown that naps can alleviate sleep deficits, but
they can also improve a person’s cognitive abilities (1). Studies have shown that taking an
afternoon nap can improve verbal memory, creative problem-solving, mathematical reasoning,
perceptual and object learning, and symbol recognition (1). In a study conducted at Harvard
University’s Medical School, it was found that the brain consolidates and practices what is
learned during the day after the student participants went to sleep. This indicates that sleeping
after a lesson is learned is as important as getting a good night’s rest before a test or exam
(Spinks 2). In the 1990s, NASA conducted a groundbreaking study which involved 747 pilots
and astronauts. Those pilots who took afternoon naps demonstrated a 34 % better overall
performance and reaction time than those pilots who did not take naps (Napping 2).
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Research studies have also shown that taking a siesta in the afternoon also improves
mood and alertness (Dvorsky 1). According to sleep experts,
sleep deprivation usually manifests itself in feeling especially drained in the
afternoon – the time of day where chemicals regulating mood, sleep, and emotions
(serotonin and dopamine) naturally dip. The dip is even more dramatic if you’re
already sleepy. With a rest in the afternoon when the serotonin system in the brain slows,
workers perform better at their jobs (Palazzolo 2).
In the aforementioned NASA study with pilots and astronauts, the group which took an averaged
nap of 25 minutes had a 100% increase in alertness over the group which did not take a nap
(Napping 2). It stands to reason, that if high school students had an afternoon siesta built into
their day, they too would experience an improvement in their cognitive abilities, performance,
mood and alertness. High school students would be in good company, too. They would join
scientists and leaders such as Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, John F. Kennedy, Harry Truman,
Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, and Napoleon who all were known to take an afternoon nap
(5).
Puritan Work Ethic
Unfortunately, taking a siesta in the afternoon is still a revolutionary idea in America.
Ingrained in the culture of the American people is the Puritan work ethic. Dr. Phyllis Zee,
director of the Northwestern University’s Memorial Hospital’s Sleep Disorder Center, said, “It’s
a very cultural thing for Americans to push themselves during the day. With an economy that
moves and changes quickly and rapidly, the harder you work and the longer hours you put in,
you think you are more productive. . . it reaches a point when you are sleep deprived that you
make mistakes and productivity does not happen” (Palazzolo 2). Huffington Post founder and
president, Arianne Huffington, used to believe that working 24-7 was the only way to be
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productive. After fainting from exhaustion, she awoke with a broken cheekbone, had to have
stitches, and developed the idea to implement nap rooms for her 400+ workers at The
Huffington Post’s New York office. She said in an interview on the Today Show that, “Sleep
makes us more productive, creative, less stressed and much healthier and happier. Even a 20minute nap in the middle of the day can make a huge difference. I grew up thinking that if you
work around the clock, you are going to be more effective, and I realize that is not true” (Stump
3). Clearly, the current idea of working non-stop, whether it is at a company or in a high school,
needs to be changed toward the Mediterranean idea of taking an afternoon siesta.
Creating an Afternoon Siesta
The question that many people may be asking now is how can an afternoon siesta be built
into the busy schedule of high school students? One idea could be to cut time from other school
activities. Small amounts of time- between 5 to 15 minutes- could be trimmed from activities
such as lunch, reading time, or study hall. Schools that have block scheduling could shed 10
minutes from the beginning of one class or 5 minutes from two classes and still have ample time
to conduct the class as usual. The trick is the length of the nap. In the scientific research journal,
Sleep, a recent study examined the advantages and disadvantages of no naps versus naps of
various lengths. The results showed that a 10-minute nap produced the most benefit in terms of
reduced sleepiness and improved cognitive performance (Napping 5). Therefore, a 10 minute
afternoon siesta could feasibly be built into the schedules of sleep-deprived high school students
with the goal of improving students’ ability to cognitively function more effectively.
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Implementing siestas into the schedules of high-school students to help mitigate their
fatigue is certainly something that can be done with flexibility and some creative thinking.
Schools can find ways to add time for siestas by using solutions such as taking time from other
school activities and grafting it together to set aside time for a power nap. Due to the dip in the
serotoninergic cycle in the afternoon, students will probably find it relatively easy to take a siesta
especially since the dip is exacerbated by their already sleep-deprived state. In addition to
lessening the effects of sleep deprivation, students would reap other benefits from taking short
siestas such as better school performance, improved moods, and increased alertness. Thus,
mandating an afternoon siesta into the schedule of sleep deprived high school students needs to
become a priority in school districts across the country.
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Works Cited
Duncan, Arne. Interview with Susan Page. “A Back-to-School Conversation About Education”
The Diane Rehm Show. NPR, 4 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
Dvorsky, George. “The Science Behind Power Naps, and Why They’re So Damn Good for
You.” Daily Explainer. n.p., 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
"Eight Major Obstacles to Delaying School Start Times." National Sleep Foundation. n.p., 6
July 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
Feldman, Robert. Understanding Psychology. New York: McGraw Hill. 2013. Print.
"Later School Start Times Improved Adolescent Alertness." National Sleep Foundation. n.p., 6
July 2010. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
Murray, Patrick. "Night Owls Face Disadvantages in High School Years." Night Owls Face
Disadvantages in High School Years. American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 13 Nov. 2013.
Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
O’Conner, Larry. “Education Secretary: School Starts Too Early in the Morning.” The Conversation.
Foreign Affairs Instablog, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
Palazzolo, Rose. "Sleep Experts Call for Siestas." ABC News. ABC News Network, 31 Oct.
2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
“Napping.” National Sleep Foundation. n.p. n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
Ross, Melissa. “Does High School Start Too Early? More Researchers Say Yes, Call for
Change.” First Coast Connect. WJCT News, 23 July 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
Spinks, Sarah. "Inside the Teenage Brain." Frontline. PBS, 3 Mar. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
Stump, Scott. “Nap Rooms Encourage Sleeping on the Job to Encourage Productivity.” The Today Show.
NBC News Network, 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
"Teens and Sleep." National Sleep Foundation. n.p., 6 July 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.