Persuasive Essay On School Start Times

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School Start Times Imagine a teenage student struggling to get out of bed in the morning. The night before was occupied with math homework, an English essay, a doctor’s appointment, and swim team practice, leaving little time to rest. The student, exhausted and sleep deprived, wakes up at 6am every morning in order to catch the school bus at 7am. Juggling homework, extracurricular activities, family time and of course, rest are everyday tasks complicated by school start times. The early start times of middle and high schools nationwide affect each and every student immensely, affecting academic performance and overall wellness. Students attend first period feeling unfocused and not ready to learn, causing information to fly right past them. Sleep deprived students also often feel stressed and anxious, lacking rest and free time. We should care about this issue because successful students bring forth a successful future. Sleep deprived students have a more difficult time learning, which can cause even the most …show more content…

According to Judith Owens, tweens and teenagers experience changes in circadian clocks that delay the time they are able to fall asleep. This means that with even an established bedtime, students can still wake up groggy. This is important because this fact shows that cutting down on extra activities cannot solve this sleepy dilemma. The only way we can fix this issue is by delaying start times. Secondly, according to researchers in Evanston, Illinois, teens sleep up to two hours fewer on school nights than on weekends. Also, students had higher performances on alertness tests later in the day than in the morning hours. This is important because this fact shows that students are unfocused due to a lack of sleep and unable to give their best shot early in the morning. Therefore, students need to begin class at a later