School Should Start Later

Staying up until 1am to finish math homework and studying for that huge history test next class is pretty routine for some teens. Juggling school, sports, a social life, and other extracurriculars is tough, and teens are already in a critical period in their life. It is the time period in which teens grow and learn the most, and sets them up for a bright future. Staying healthy both mentally and physically is imperative, and sleep is probably the most important. Schools starting as early as 7am limits a teen’s potential. If schools were to start later, the benefits would be endless. Schools starting later improves both physical and mental health of students, keeps the individual and those around them safer, and improves students performance in school and sports.

Have you ever wondered about the effects that would be brought if school started later? At the moment, school clearly begins too early. This is a problem that is unquestionably bringing negative affects to many students. Many schools throughout the country are addressing this problem by considering school schedule changes including later start times for middle and high schools. Research indicates there are unfavorable effects to current school schedules, as well as well as positive effects to delayed start times. To best meet the needs of teens, school should start later.

The school day should start later in order improve students’ mental health. Survey results have consistently indicated that middle level and high school students who start school at 7:15 a.m. or earlier obtain less total sleep on school nights due to earlier rise times in comparison to students at later-starting schools. () This is just the beginning of the negative impacts that early start times have on students. By starting school at a later time, students’ brains will function better, their grades and learning increases, and will be more mentally stable.

Almost 10% of U.S. high schools start before 7:30 a.m. Over 20% of middle schools start class at 7:45 a.m. or earlier. This is leaving students everywhere overwhelmed and tired. This can lead to tremendous effects on their health and grades. Research shows that only do later start times improve those things, but ends up increasing the school's yearly income in the long run. For these reasons, schools should make their hours later because it can affect students grades and health in a positive way.

Wahlstrom reports on the contentious discussion and debate about whether or not schools should consider switching to later start times. When classes start before 8:15, students become sleep deprived causing memory deficits, impaired performance and alertness, and being able to stay on task. Even though there are all these negative consequences to early start times why do schools still continue to start before 8:15? Wahlstrom mentioned the possible reasons why more schools have not made the switch. Wahlstrom stated, “As other districts consider the change to a later start for their high schools… an extremely contentious decision because administrators do not want any local advocacy group or start policymaker to interfere in a decision normally

High school students should have a later starting time in school due to students not getting the amount of sleep they need to function. Students that stay up late at night are way too tired to learn when they get to school early in the morning. Most students who do stay up late are unable to sleep due to melatonin not yet being produced. This shows that starting school at a later time would have many positive benefits. These benefits include higher test scores, increased attendance, more participation from students, and higher performance from athletes.

Beep Beep Beep Beep. It is 5:30 A.M, you were up late last night working on an atrocious math assignment; and all you want is to roll over and ignore that you have to go catch the bus at 7:15 A.M. Sometimes, you’re lucky enough to get a ride or drive to school and get an extra five or ten minutes of sleep, while still making it to first hour in time for the pledge of allegiance. Then, by the time second hour rolls around it is only 8:30 A.M. This example shows school start times are affecting the teenagers and preteenagers of our generation. These early school start times are beginning to create a decrease in students grades, concentration levels, tardiness, absences, and the amount of sleep the students are getting each night. For the first time, the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention is urging education policy makers to start middle and high schools later in the morning. The idea is to improve the students sleep and concentration levels during school. As you can see, high schools and middle schools should start later in the morning.

So at this time, most teens sleep at 11pm and since a lot of middle and high schools start at 7.30 am it can be very bad for the developing brain of a teenager. The benefits that can come with starting school later don’t just have to appeal to the students, it can be helpful for parents and teachers and the community in

In his article Mr. Carroll delves into the benefits and detriments to a later start time in schools, and he makes the argument that the benefits from a later start time to the individual student and society as a whole substantially outweigh any increased financial cost incurred in making a later start time a reality

If life seems too short for you then wake up earlier. Schools have been debating on if we should start school earlier or later. Many believe that starting school later is better for the students, but waking up earlier has its pros to. Starting school early has its benefits like helping parents organize their schedule and preparing the young for the work force.

On average in today’s society most teens don’t like going to school that early in the morning. To have to wake up so early when they only get about seven hours of sleep, to have students be coming into school at 7:30AM or maybe even earlier in some other schools, is not right. Students need to have time at night to get work done, not only schoolwork but also non-schoolwork. Needless to say, the school schedule for high school students needs to be changed and be made where they go in later. That way they get their work done and get enough sleep because without much sleep students will not be getting high grades. A health survey that the University Health Center administered showed them that one in four students say that lack of sleep has

Almost every day high school students are waking up around six o’clock in the morning to get ready for school, some even earlier than that. Nearly every morning students are waking up without adequate sleep. If sleep is one of the most essential needs of the body in order to grow and develop, shouldn’t we be more aware of how much it affects students everyday performance? The ways in which students are affected by sleep-deprivation is precisely why school needs to start later.

We live in an age when many growing adolescents are constantly fighting their natural body clocks. It could potentially be one of the biggest issues facing our high school systems. Many school’s across America have started to push back their school start times. Is it worth it? The answer is yes. School should start later in order to unlock our nation’s high school potential.

It is often said that the early bird gets the worm, but that is not the case for school start times. Many schools across the country have adolescents wake up in the wee hours of the morning to get ready and go to school. Evidence from complete studies suggests that teenagers are seriously sleep deprived. Waking up so early is not always beneficial, although some people do believe that it is efficient. School start times should be later because it improves adolescents’ health and academic performance, and it can increase the safety of the community.

School’s start times have been an arising issue in the United States for many years and recently began to surface. More and more individuals everyday are realizing the effects of a school’s start time on those attending the school, teaching at the school, parents of those who attend the school as well as the surrounding community. “…education seems to be the most sleep-deprived field in America” (Black, 2001). Beginning a school’s start time at 7:17 in the morning isn’t the best time to try and teach adolescents calculus or Shakespeare. “For many, the unusually early start time is nothing short of torturous. A survey of 26 Denver –area companies showed that the average adult trudges into