Later Start Time In High School

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.

Starting school later can actually improve your learning, health and even your attitude and all of that can be changed by just starting school at 8:30AM. Kids don't start taking in information until 8:30AM because that is when the brain starts to really work. According to National sleep foundation ¨ teenagers are naturally inclined to stay up later and get up later in the morning.¨ ¨Starting school at 8:30 improves a student's chance of success,¨ according to the (National sleep foundation). Not only do teens want to sleep more, but sleeping more actually improves their health.

This prevents adolescents from dropping off until 11 p.m.,” (Kalish), with a different sleeping schedule caused by the hormone melatonin, which causes tiredness, it would be beneficial to start school an hour later. If most high school students don’t fall asleep until 11 p.m. and get up at 6:30 a.m., then most students will only get seven and a half hours of sleep, or less if they have to get up earlier because they live further away and have a longer commute. Studies show that after nine hours of sleep adolescents

“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together,” (Thomas Dekker), but with most middle and high schools starting before 8:00 am, students aren’t getting the recommended hours of sleep they need to do well in school. School start times should be later for middle and high schoolers for the protection of students’ academic scores, the reduced risk of traffic accidents, and for the protection of student health, although people may argue that parent work schedules may have to change and that the bus schedule change may or will be costly. Middle and high schools should start later for the positive impacts they would have on students and their families. First of all, the start times of middle and high schools should be later for the protection of students’ academic scores. Students who don’t get enough sleep get lower academic and standardized test scores.

A good number of adolescents are lacking sleep and are performing poorly both academically and physically. As a result, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pushing educational policymakers to make middle and high schools start later in the morning (Richmond). Students show up to class seriously lacking sleep and the early start times cause them to have to wake up at hours that contradict their internal clocks, which are rhythms that determine sleep patterns. Less than half of the 10th graders get even seven hours of sleep, which is already less than the recommended hours of sleep for an adolescent (Richmond). Even if teenagers go to bed earlier, their school start times are becoming more early as they advance through grades

I am the sibling of a student currently attending Melrose High School. I am contacting you to request that the district implement healthier start times for middle and high school students attending Melrose Public Schools. Currently, Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School and Melrose High School have a start time of 7:45 a.m. Studies show there should be a delay in morning classes until 8:30 a.m. or later. Doing this will maximize the intellectual potential of the students in our district. Are you and the School Board aware that Melrose High School is apart of the 40% of U.S. schools that start before 8 a.m.?

Most teenage students despise having to get up so early and walk out the door to get to school before 8:00. If school bagan at least an hour later students would get more sleep, their academic scores would improve, and students would have time to eat a healthy breakfast. 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.

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.

Researchers in this study discovered that the average start time of these schools was 8:03am (“Schools Start too Early” np). They also articulated their interpretations on “Inner Clocks” in teenagers (“Schools Start too Early” np). Teenagers bodies don't release melatonin until late at night, around 10pm, so sleeping prior to this time is tougher than an older person who releases melatonin earlier (“Schools Start too Early” np). In this case, for many adolescents, it is difficult to get much sleep before 10:30pm or 11:00pm; and then they are required to turn around and rise as early as 5:30am (“Schools Start too Early” np). A little more than 82% of the schools they surveyed started earlier than 8:30am with Louisiana schools beginning as early as 7:40am (“Schools Start Too Early”

A report by Newsweek says that “Perpetual lack of sleep is tied to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, depression and a shortened life span in adults, underscoring the importance of establishing good sleep habits early in life”(1). We may be fine without sufficient sleep now, but health consequences will show later in life. Diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are already big problems in America. An article by CNN says that “Adolescents that go to sleep at midnight or later are also more likely to suffer from depression and have suicidal thoughts” (1). The mental health of students at Clarke should not be overlooked.

School Start Times: Waking Up to the Truth Imagine staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish the homework that had been accumulated during the day, only to have to get up a few hours later to catch the school bus, knowing that succeeding in class the next day would be short of a miracle. For many students, this scenario is not only feared but a reality they must face. The American Academy of Pediatrics states, “About 90% of high-school-aged adolescents get insufficient sleep on school nights…”(“Early

Could letting teenagers sleep later in the morning do more than just make them happy? Starting school later has many benefits than just making them happy. Pushing back school hours can benefit many things including higher test scores which also includes better attendance rates and less tartiness, students can get enough sleep, and it also improves teen health. Everyday when my alarm sounds, I will always snooze it, and after I get ready and go outside to wait for the bus, I will still be sleepy, then when I get to school, I always tend to close my eyes a lot cause I am not fully awaked yet. Then I will try to pay attention for the rest of the day.

For about 20 years now, school districts across the United States have debated delaying high school start times to start later so adolescent students are allowed more time to sleep, which studies say helps school performance and brain development. Most high schools in the United States start class at 7:59 a.m or earlier. Statistics show that starting school at these early hours can not only result in multiple physical, psychological and educational problems, but also widespread sleep deprivation. With a later school starting time, all of these issues can be resolved. Students need 8 ½ to 9 ½ hours of sleep per night in order to thrive both academically and physically throughout the day.

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.

Quarter 1 Assessment: Annotated Bibliography Thesis Statement: Due to adolescent sleep patterns, school needs to start at 10:00AM Source 1: The UCLA Health website tells how teenage sleep patterns differ from adults, due to changing bodies, and internal sleep clocks. This informational database is based on college research. The title of this page is “Sleep and Teens”.