The digestion of food takes 5-6 hours, and what I can gather from http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/carbs.html does not point to anything like the long-lasting stimulant effects you describe. Simple sugars are quickly digested and released; for instance, soft drinks last for 1-2 hours then another boost is necessary. As for your argument that glucose takes 1-2 hours to metabolise, you're dead wrong, allow me to quote the site directly:
Eating processed sugar is almost as fast as pumping directly into your bloodstream, not this long-term digestive process. When you said 1-2 hours, I believe you referred to complex carbohydrates. However, these take so long to digest that their effect on overall activity level is negligible. However, complex carbohydrates can assist learning by providing an energy source for the brain.
To conclude, I don't see how sometimes having dessert and/or a glass of fruit juice is impacting my sleep schedule. If I eat dinner at 18:00, (which is as late as it gets, the normal time is 16:00-17:30) then I should be wiped out at 20:00 by the ensuing sugar crash. The complex carbohydrates I eat do not keep me up at night, and thus there is little evidence for food being the cause of the problem (unless you guzzle down a sugary beverage immediately before retiring to bed). Caffeine is similar, however its effects can last out to three hours, but again, it would require that one consumed it long after dinner to have it keep one up at night. Seeing as I don't gulp down sugary or caffeinated drinks before bed, it certainly does not apply to me.
It's like wanting a bed with a matress instead of just a wooden frame. Sure, you can sleep on the frame if you are tired enough, but a matress helps people get a better night's sleep.
-Penguin
i'm sorry but, you're still way out in left field and lazy on top of it all. not that i completely disagree that your school should change the start time by at least 1 hour but, thus far you have not presented any real hard evidence to support your stance. you again make a claim that science can refute. should have done more research on the digestive cycle, brain function and the metabolism of glucose.
just so you're very clear where your argument fails to hold substance...
you haven't proven you suffer from anything other than lifestyle that would contribute to your sleep dysfunction. self diagnosis is not proof.
you have not shown that you were examined and diagnosed by a physician nor undergone any possible treatments for any issues that could contribute to your sleep cycle dysfunction.
you have not presented anything more than conjecture that any percentage students within your school share the same or similar physiological issues and accompanying sleep dysfunctions.
nor have you shown that any percentage, let alone a significant portion of students within your school would benefit from a later start time.
nearly all of the resources you presented show that a change in school start time alone will not significantly alter the effects that physiological changes and lifestyle choices produces in teens.
you have not been able to refute the evidence that lifestyle and eating habits are as contributory to problems with sleeping cycles as hormonal changes in adolescents.
i know you're young and taking the time to follow something to its conclusion can be difficult, but you have made some pretty boastful claims around here which makes some of us expect more from you. i can tell you haven't done any real research, the resources on your initial claim are mostly from the same research and lack any actual statistical data. your subsequent responses lack real conviction on your stance because you fail to research the evidence that refutes your claims to its fullest extent. when you look at something all you find is what you expect to see, nothing more. you need to learn to look deeper, examine every possible aspect, anticipate rebuttal and look for evidence that supports the rebuttal, then look for ways to support your stance and refute it with complete evidence.
to fully back your stance, that paper should include a larger variety of research, specifics on hormonal imbalances in adolescents, statstical data specific to sleep dysfunction in adolescents, as well as the costs associated with medical treatments in lieu of a time change.
Gyrene? You're still a knucklehead.