Why School Should Start Later

Do you ever wake up and feel like you haven’t gotten enough sleep? The reason is because in reality you probably haven’t. Studies show that schools should not start any earlier that 8:30 in the morning due to teens suffering from sleep deprivation. There are many negative effects this condition can have on a teens body including a direct effect on one’s physical and mental health, public safety and excelling in the future. In the Ted Talk video, " Why school should start later for teens" by, Wendy Troxel.  Ms. Troxel explained why school should start later for teens.. Students are very drowsy in the morning and are usually rushing to get to school on time which limits breakfasts times and healthy food options. Schools should start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.  for several reasons  but sleep deprivation is  the most important. Sleep deprivation can cause a direct effect to a child’s general health and behavior, public safety and potentially future success.

One of the biggest struggles for students today, is the struggle to wake up for school in the mornings, and to make it to class on time. Because of the start times that many high and middle schools currently have, students are having to get up early to get ready, therefore providing them with little sleep at night. They are faced with their everyday schedules, things that are happening in other parts of their lives, as well as having to keep up with their schoolwork. All of this results in a loss of sleep, with the added factor of having to wake up early in the mornings. Having a later start time for schools is beneficial for student’s health, safety, and their overall performance in school.

“Making teens start school in the morning is cruel” says brain doctor. Mary Carskadon at Brown University has shown that teenagers need about nine hours a night to maintain full alertness and academic performance. Getting up at 6:00 am is totoo early. We should have a later start time because we need more sleep to focus, tTeens need a certain amount of sleep, and we need to stop dozing off in class.

Do you wake up in the mornings to your alarm and snooze it because you are still tired and need more sleep? Many students have complained about the time you are required to get up for school. Most teens are arguing that it is healthier for them to get more sleep. In the article “Despite proven benefits, Starting School Later Remains ‘A Tough Sell’” by Tim Walker, claims that “...letting students sleep and starting school later can lead to better health and academic outcomes.”. Students should be given more time to sleep because it is good for them.

Beep-Beep-Beep. The loud shrill of your alarm wakes you up from your deep sleep. Have you ever wanted school to start later? Maybe all you wanted was to just fall back to sleep. School districts have been looking at pushing school start times for older students who could get extra sleep for a long time. There have even had studies conducted to find the benefits of a later start. But have they looked at the consequences? School start times should stay the same.

I believe schools should move to a later start time. Starting later will be beneficial to teens. Starting time later will benefit teens because as they are growing and getting older they are requiring more sleep. First, teens require more sleep. For instance, teens require about 9.5 hours of sleep after puberty but only get 7.5 hours.

Schools Start Time “ Waking up a teenager at 7 am is equivalent to waking an adult up at 4 am.” Nobody, teenagers or adults, like to be woken up early, Especially to go to work or school. Schools should start later so kids can focus better, attendance will improve, and health will improve.

Do any of you have classes that start earlier than 10 AM? Do you catch yourself yawning or falling asleep throughout the day? Most of you do. Waking up at the crack of dawn for another day of school isn’t fun for anyone: not for the millions of kids who have to be at school before 8:30 AM and certainly not for the parents who have to drag those kids out of bed. Teen students’ need a later school start time for many reasons: it gives teens the opportunity to get much needed sleep; it improves their academic performance; as well as helping them become healthier.

I don’t think I can name one person who likes getting up early and going to school. In my opinion, I think school should definitely start later. Research has proven that starting school later has improved children’s grades, health, and attitude.

When you were 14-16 were you tired or sleeping in class? Odds are, you were, since 60% of 14-16 year olds get less than 7 hours of sleep each night. Schools should start later than when it is now because of these 3 reasons. A main reason is that kids wouldn’t be so drowsy in their morning classes. They wouldn’t fall asleep in their morning classes. Kids would get enough rest so they won't be so late to class. The last reason is that kids would feel better since they will get more hours of sleep than normal.

Have you ever been really tired for school because it started too early? Your answer is yes of course. Many schools all over the country start too early in the morning, and it is effecting students nationwide. Students could do so much better in schools if schools just start later in the day. Schools should start their school day after eight in the morning.

Several high schools all around the United States start school before the recommended time of 8:30 or later and there is nothing being done to help prevent this. Although it seems that it is just a time, waking up too early is very detrimental, not only to teenagers, but people of all ages. According to Zuckerman from the National Center for Health Research, “By 2000, many high schools were starting at 7:30 or earlier”. Waking up at this earliest of times can lead to increased depression, drug use, obesity, conflict, and car accidents in the average teenager. Simply increasing the start time of school by a single hour can reduce the rate of the effects stated above by at least 70%. Also, according to Tlumacki and Vaznis from the Boston globe, “The CDC has joined a growing number of national organizations calling for later start times for both high school and middle school students. Those organizations

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.

Some believe that prolonging the start time of schools isn’t a good idea. While some might argue that, “School bus schedules are arranged to meet the needs of not just one school but all the schools in the district . . . Later start would mean some districts might be necessitated to investing in additional buses and drivers which might be expensive,” they forget that we could always rearrange the other school start times in the district. Next, some people may say, “There are also those who worry that if classes start later, teens will just go to bed later.” This could happen, however, most teens would take advantage and just go to bed at their regular time anyway, not later. Even if they did go to sleep later, waking up later in the morning

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.