Switch robs kids of needed sleep

I also want to advocate for getting rid of daylight saving time. As a teacher, I see daily how it affects our kids. It means they are walking to school or to the bus stop in the dark 10 to 12 weeks longer every year, which is a safety hazard. Just as importantly, it means that kids are getting less sleep, which we know affects learning and behavior.

High school kids are required to be in class and ready to learn usually around 7:30 a.m. Jumping ahead an hour means they need to get up an hour earlier to make it school — a condition that lasts April through October, approximately half the school year. The research clearly shows (as does my classroom experience) that teens are not well equipped to get up and work productively early in the morning. The failure rate for kids who don’t make it to school for first period is two to three times greater than at any other time of the day. Younger children usually start school later, but it’s difficult to get kids of any age ready for bedtime in the spring and early fall, when it stays light until 7 to 9 p.m. Consequently, they get less sleep.

As someone once said, daylight saving time is like cutting a length off the top of a blanket, and sewing it on the bottom, which doesn’t make the blanket any longer. Instead, let’s eliminate it, and learn to live within the natural cycles nature had given us, support our kids, and maybe get a little more rest ourselves.

Ann Morgan

Everett