Research Paper On Why High School Should Start Later

First of all, kids will be more energized and be more academically advanced if school starts are pushed back. According to, “Should School Start Later” “Studies show that well rested teens get better grades, have higher standardized test scores, and miss fewer days of school. They also have a lower risk of being in car accidents and have fewer health problems such as depression, mood changes, and being overweight.” Many schools start before 7:45 a.m. and have tired students not putting forth their best efforts while 40 percent of American High Schools start classes past 8 a.m. The schools with later starts

Research has shown that teenagers experience a change in the internal sleep clock so that waking up early and going to sleep early are difficult. Some people believe that high school classes should begin later in the day to better accommodate students’ natural sleep clocks. Waking up early can be a real struggle for teenagers. Most teens naturally sleep in until ten thirty or eleven on weekends. I do believe high school classes should start later because teens could sleep more naturally, it would give teenagers more time to do things in the mornings, and more sleep equals better

If we were to start school later, academic GPA’s (grade point averages) would definately increase. Isn’t this what we want in our school? It is proven that the more sleep you get, the more awake and alert you actually are. I interviewed Michael Claffey, a sophomore at Newington High School, he stated “ Goooooud.” Also Jorge Premto a sophomore at Newington High School stated “Yes Michael, yes I do believe school should start at nine o’clock am. This will thus help further my education because I will be well rested.” In all, we need school to start later because it will help us with our education.

Having a later school start time can increase a student’s academic grades and awareness. Thirty-three percent of teens say that they fell asleep in class. Even though this is a small portion of teens, falling asleep in class shouldn’t even happen once. Also, this means they are getting less than what they need,(eight to nine hours of sleep a night). A school needs to pack as much teaching time as they can in a day, but if that means waking up a student at a time so early, then there's no point.When a student doesn’t sleep as much, students are not aware as they would be if they had a good night’s rest. If students had this sleep, the would pay more attention in class. Therefor, a student would have better grades.

The primary reason for attending school is for adolescents to get an education in hopes of getting a good job.  Attendance, test scores, and GPA’s all play an important role in a student’s success in school, and if they can all be improved by pushing the start time back, then this issue should be pushed further.  The root problem of students not performing to their full potential has to do with the inability to focus from drowsiness in class due to the lack of sleep they are getting.  To support this point, Carskadon, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior, and his team, “found that students showed up for morning classes seriously sleep-deprived and that the 7:20 a.m. start time required them to be awake during hours that ran contrary to their internal clocks” (Richmond).  In other words, Carskadon believes that current high school start times go against teens’ natural sleep patterns, making them be awake at a time where their bodies aren’t ready to get up yet.  This causes concentration issues making paying attention in class harder, and kids not getting the best grades they can.  Also, sleep won’t get any

Also, it will take away the opportunity for students to prepare themselves for early college classes in the future. As one mom states on her blog “If teens are going to school later and later, they won't train their bodies to go to sleep at a reasonable hour.  Training their bodies is something that will be useful to them in adult life,” (Grose). Some principles at school still do not believe that pushing back the school start do would be beneficial. They say it is because students only take into account school starting later and not having to stay in school for the same number of hours a day. Also, that children enjoy getting out at 2 or 3 pm because then they have time for extracurricular activities and do not have to miss school if they participate in a sport (Rasicot). People against later start times feel the problem solved could be solved instead by better teen discipline.

Going to bed at 2:00 in the morning and waking up at 6:30 AM to go to school is a nightmare for anyone. Unfortunately, this situation is far too common in today’s schools. But have you ever wondered how insufficient sleep affects your everyday life? Schools must start later. With early start times thwarting students’ health and safety, adolescents needing more sleep in general, and teens having trouble sleeping early, later start times are essential.

Students hate getting up so early for school. Right? Teenagers on average need at least seven to eight hours of sleep each night. A two thousand twelve study shows that students who start school an hour later than usual saw their math scores on standardized tests increase an average of 2.2 percent. When students are able to get the sleep they need, they are able to get up and make it to school on time. Also when students get the sleep needed, they not only are able to make it to school on time but it gives them the sleep they need to be able to function which improves academically. High School start times should start later because it allows more sleep for teenagers, increases attendance and improves academically.

School is not the most desirable place that a teenager would want to be at seven hours a day, five days a week, 180 days a year, and even more problematic is that for them to get to school on time, they have to fight their biological clocks (Hansen). Many schools have started pushing their start times back by even just an hour, and helped with the students grades and mental health by giving them the time they need to sleep (“4 Good Snooze”). Pushing start times back a good idea because it will give students the rest they need to be successful.

Finally, later start times in schools will not conflict with teen’s natural sleep schedule. M. Safwan Badr from “USA Today” says,“The typical teen body wants to sleep from about 12 a.m. or 1 a.m. until 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. They're waking up at a time when their brain doesn't want them to be awake" (2). Teens are often rushed out the door sometimes with no breakfast before their brain and body has stopped telling students that it is time to sleep. Therefore, it hard for students to concentrate at school. It would even be easier for parents to get their student to school.There would not be such a rush out the

I strongly agree that schools should start an hour later than they do now. Almost everyone in our school agrees that more sleep would help them do better in morning classes. I have never heard of anyone not wanting to get more sleep at nighttime. As teenagers our body needs more sleep than were normally getting. “The average teen is chronically sleep deprived and suffering from some of the same symptoms as adults with serious sleep disorders.” Without the necessary sleep that we need it can cause health problems and be much harder to concentrate in class. This alone should be enough to push back the start time of schools by an hour. Another reason to start school later is, because when you’re tired you have a higher chance of getting in a

Did you know that that 69% of U.S. High school students get less than 8 hours of sleep on school nights, and 40% get 6 or less hours? Now imagine that you’re that student and you get into bed at 9 but can’t completely get to sleep until 11. Most children can’t help staying up late because that’s just how their body works. There are many reasons we should start school later in the day, I’m just going to tell you a few of them…

Have you ever been exhausted on a Monday morning and feel like you needed more sleep? Well, you're not alone. Studies have shown that schools starting late is actually harmful to the students learning, and mental development also students need to use their brain when they are writing papers or making speeches if they forgo sleep they will have many mistakes and will not be able to do their job well. Energy is also very important both for students and teachers, instead of being drained and late to class, students would have more energy without being late, and they would be well prepared. Kids these days never get enough sleep! There is many reasons why school should start later. Students are extremely stressed in the morning and rushing to get to school on time. If school started later kids would be more focused and concentrated in class. Kids these days are usually super tired in the morning. Kids are coming to school hungry! Most kids in the morning don’t wanna eat until they are fully awake. Which they can’t since they are not fully awake until a few hours after they wake up! Sleep experts have studied sleep cycles in teens which shows that it is more difficult for most teenagers to fall asleep as early as younger children or older adults. For a teen to be fully energized a teen would have to sleep 9 hours! An average high school student goes to sleep at 11 pm and has to wake up between 5 or 6 a.m. to allow many them to catch the bus

Does the school day start too early? Well, a lot of people would agree that it starts way too early. The school day should start later because students are not focused in the mornings, they don’t get enough rest, and more learning would be done.

Secondly, school starting at a later time is beneficial academically. Most teens don’t get enough sleep which causes them to feel sleep deprived and stressed for school. Teens usually get six to seven hours of sleep but Dr. Cora Breuner says, “ We truly believe that our teenagers are getting six to seven hours of sleep a night, and they need eight to 10 (Shute).” This causes teens exhausted for the school and not mentally or physically prepared for each class in school. However, teens who get more sleep do better academically, with better standardized scores and a better quality living style (Shute). For example through one studies, showing the delay by an hour in start time, increases standardized test scores by roughly 3 percentile points (Edwards). So academically it is beneficial for the kids in school.