Curing the Teenage Caffeine Addiction

The teenage brain works best during specific hours of the day. Photo courtesy of interestingfactsblog.blogspot.com

By Eben Holbrook

According to Psychology Today, studies show that the teenage mind is most active between the hours of 2pm and 9pm. To get all we can out of our education, shouldn’t we be in school during these hours to increase our ability to learn?

I personally feel more attentive after having a good night’s rest.

HHS junior Alyssa Kittredge says, “I would prefer staying up late compared to having to get up early to go to school.”

And waking up in the early morning and getting to school at 8am, during the time period of the day that teenagers are least attentive, does not seem to make sense. A simple switch in our schedule could benefit grades and learning speeds for the entire school. If we let teenagers sleep later, wake up, do homework, and then come to school, they would have the education material right in their heads from just working on it. They would be well rested and fully awake, and it would increase their ability to learn material and not just remember it for the nearest test. Using the most active hours of the teenage mind to our advantage could greatly increase the speed at which teenagers learn in school.