Persuasive Essay: Why Middle School Should Start Later

“Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy and wise,” like Ben Franklin said. But does this apply to teens. A common problem for teens in the modern age is school is starting too early. Most Middle and High Schools start at 7 to 7:40. Kids the age from 6-13 should get 9-11 hours of sleep every night. Kids are getting more into caffeine products and watching TV and playing electronics. For the first time the CDC, The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging education policymakers to start Middle and High school classes later in the morning. In more than 40 states, at least 75% of public schools start earlier than 8:30. ADD MORE

Middle schoolers’ grades declining, laziness, and absences can all be caused by lack of sleep. Most Middle schoolers don’t get the greatest amount of sleep for school. Observers have noticed kids being lazy or yawning due to lack of sleep. Why not start school earlier? There are several reasons why schools should start later.

To begin with teenagers usually need 8.5 hours of sleep a day. Not enough sleep for students has gone to far. 22,000 kids all across the USA are stressed and tired for school. School should start later because starting school early is not just a student complaint, it's an observation backed up by science. Studies have shown the brain doesn't properly function until two hours after students leave there rooms in the morning. 70 percent of teens aren't getting enough sleep. Activities also can interfere with a students sleep.

If schools started later, it would help students in many ways, like doing a better job in school. According to the study that Kyla L, Aarton T, and Rachel W did, “Greater sleep duration was associated with fewer reports of various mental health and substance use related issues and behaviors. For instance, for each additional hour of sleep reported, there was a 28% reduction in the adjusted odds of a participant reporting that he or she felt unhappy, sad, or depressed.”(2) This shows that every extra hour that student slept, had a 28% chance less of the student having health issues. It also shows that students have less of a

According to a Consumer Affairs article “At least once a week 28 percent of High School students fall asleep in school, either doing homework or arriving late because they slept in too late” (“Survey:Teens”). This evidence proves that a later start time can benefit students. A later start time would help kids to deliver in many areas of the classroom. This trial shows kids with an early start time have trouble staying healthy, working in the classroom, and being around others. School should start later because kids are better able to give attention to their teacher, perform better in academics, and have less health problems.

It is important for teenagers to get eight to nine hours of sleep at night to not only succeed in daily tasks but in school as well. Many high school students are not doing as well

One reason school times should start later is because it will help students catch up on sleep. “Sleep deprivation has become virtually epidemic among American teenagers. Research suggests that adolescents require about 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep, but according to the National Sleep Foundation, only 14% achieve this goal.” said Julie Peorgers from The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter. Not acquiring the recommended amount of sleep can have repercussion of the human body and brain. Lack of sleep increases students chances of depression and suicidal thoughts. It can also potentially weaken the immune system. The school day is hard enough on a child and not getting enough sleep does not make it any better. School

The first reason why middle schools and high schools should start later is because students need more sleep. Teens who don’t get enough sleep are walking around like zombies. Adolescents who don't get enough sleep often suffer from physical and mental problems. Teens are set to stay up later and wake up later and school starting so early is getting in the way of how young adults are growing. Students have to set alarms to wake up because they don’t naturally wake up

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine asserts that early school days lead to accidents along the roads, depression among the young teenagers, and upsurge in poor performance academically for middle and high school students. Teens struggle through the challenge of waking up very early in the morning so that they can be at school at the right time. Research implies that teens should get at least eight to nine hours of night sleep for their good health. Various sponsors such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and Centers for Disease Control have the strong advice on why schools should start later. Nevertheless, by being able to sleep more before school starts, students will be able to become well rested, more attentive in classroom settings, and perform better as learners.

In addition to improving one’s health, it is also better for one’s concentration. The average student needs about ten hours of sleep; however, most students, especially teens, only get around seven hours of sleep. If school started later students would be able to sleep in and therefore get more sleep which would increase their concentration in class.

The final reason why middle and high school start times should be later is for the protection of student health. Students who don’t get the required 8 ½ to 9 ½ hours of sleep each night become more vulnerable to depression and obesity, (according to www.npr.org). This can cause problems later in these students’ lives. Think about this; Why should students have to suffer just because school start times are too early? Would you want that to be your child in the

Teenagers are in an important stage of their growth, which means that they should get all the sleep they need. We need at least 9-10 hours of sleep and it’s proven that only 15% of teenagers get the amount of sleep they need. It’s important to sleep at the right amount of time to stay focused during the day and at school. According to the website Sleep Center it states that “ Teenagers that don’t get the sleep they need end up getting sleep disorder such as depression and other health issues” . Getting to bed late at night could affect your health. Us teens are more likely to struggle at school or suffer from depression.

School starting times has been an ongoing debate with no end in sight. Due to early mornings, adolescents have been found to sleep less, and with a hefty majority of young people not getting the necessary amount of sleep, there are many damaging side effects. I believe that the school start time should be pushed back because learning capabilities can be compromised, the body does not respond well on limited sleep, and danger on the road is greatly increased. Many studies have been piloted that demonstrate the benefits of delaying school starting times.

Teenagers need more time to sleep based on the development of their brains. Students should be getting eight to ten hours of sleep in every night (Wahlstrom). Due to the sleep mechanism in teens, research says that the earliest healthy wake

According to the National Sleep Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes public understanding of sleep and sleep disorders, starting school later is an adequate way for students to have a better memory, behavior, attention, mood, and executive function. The National Sleep Foundation states “, A National Sleep Foundation poll reported that 28% of teenagers have fallen asleep in class at least once due to lack of sleep. Negative effects of sleep loss include impairments in mood, attention, memory, behavior and executive function… increase in caffeine use… sleep deprived-teens at higher risk of car accidents.” This means that by just adjusting the time by an hour students are more aware of their surroundings, more focused on what they’re learning, have a better mood, and executive function, and it reduces the amount of sugary snacks they have eat or drink to stay awake. The effect of this is that less lives will be taken since students are more aware when school starts, obesity levels will drop due to the fact of students having enough energy to stay up without unhealthy snacks. Students will have better academic performances and they will think more than they usually. Obviously, schools should start early because students are more attentive, better memory, better mood, and an enhancement in executive