Should High School Start Later

A poll conducted in 2006 found that only 20% of teenagers actually got an adequate amount of sleep on school nights. By the end of high school, students averaged less than seven hours, and most of these teens reported feeling tired during the day (Alic and Nienstedt 862-867). It has been twelve years since this poll was conducted, and the amount of high school teens that are getting a sufficient amount of sleep is only decreasing as the years go by. Wendy Troxel, a sleep researcher, states, “Sleep deprivation among American teenagers is an epidemic. Only about one in ten gets the eight to ten hours of sleep per night recommended by sleep scientists and pediatricians.”

21% of teen motor vehicle accidents are caused by drowsy driving. Many teens everyday are complaining about their school start times being way too early. Teen tiredness is now considered to be a public health pandemic. School starting at a later time is beneficial because it helps students catch up on sleep. It helps students stay out of trouble.

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.

High school starts at 7:30 in the morning in most places. High school students typically get up an hour before or earlier in order to get ready for the day ahead. High schools should begin classes an hour later so that students may have more rest so they may be more aware and more likely to learn. If school began an hour later this would let students get more sleep, as they would more than likely continue to go to bed at the same time they do currently. “Research shows that teenagers’ body clocks are set to a schedule that is different from that of younger children or adults.

For the last few years, schools across the United States have made conscious efforts to delay school start times. The push for a later school start has been led by doctors and parents who believe students do not receive the suggested eight-and-a-half hours of sleep daily. A later start time does not guarantee more sleep for students as students may just go to bed even later usual. A later start time could also change the times for after-school activities for many students. As a result of a later start time, both students and teachers will come home to families late into night.

Day after day students have to drag themselves out of bed extremely early in order to make it to school on time, and as students get older, schools start even earlier and it makes them more exhausted than ever. Many schools around the country start before the recommended time of 8:30 am, particularly high schools which start the earliest. Starting school so early takes a toll on adolescents’ health, sleep schedules, and concentration, which can result in poor academic achievement and safety issues. High schools around the country should push back their school start times in order to provide safe and healthy conditions for students and boost their academic performance. Adolescents need about 8-10 hours of sleep a night in order to be getting a full night’s sleep; however, majority of high school students don’t get anywhere near that.

Academic success is infinitely more challenging for sleep deprived teenagers. Dr. M. Safwan Badr, past president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, disagreed with early start times by stating, “It makes no sense. You’re asking kids to learn math at a time their brains are not even awake” (Liz). Certain abilities, such as memory, organizational and thinking skills, are impaired with a lack of sleep. Later school start times are not only advantageous to students, later start times are also very beneficial to schools.

What if I told you that student academic performance can be greatly influenced by the time school starts? This fact has been greatly debated for decades since the 1980s and has been proven with scientific evidence, but still, there are those who deny students the best conditions to learn. Teenagers are still growing, both mentally and physically, this means that what happens during these few maturing years is very crucial. An article from the National Sleep Foundation has said that in order for a teenagers mind to be in its best condition, schools need to start at 8:30 or later. This means that before this time, a student is not at their best, mentally until after.

Teenagers seem to always have the need to lay their precious little noggins from slamming against their desks during class. Their eyes are as salty as the vast oceans of the world. Their eyes flake small crusts ever so rapidly. This problem needs to be put to rest. I, myself, have also suffered so greatly from this issue along with many other fellow students.

Do you think middle school should start later in the day? In my opinion we should because kids would do better in school. Middle school start later in the day because kids will not be late for school or class. With school starting later in the day kids will increase grades on their report card. When kids do not get enough it is a higher risk of drug and alcohol and.

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.

School Should Start Later A recent poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation found that 60% of children under the age of 18 complained of being tired during the day, according to their parents, and 15% said they fell asleep at school during the year. This proves that kids aren’t getting enough sleep before school. I believe that a later middle school start time would have many beneficial effects on kids. As a result, kids would be more focused in class because they would be getting more sleep, that would lead to better grades, and finally reduced absenteeism.