Why School Should Start Later

About 40 percent of American high schools start classes before 8 a.m., and more than 20 percent of middle schools start at 7:45 a.m. or earlier. Studies show that starting school later-even by half an hour- has major health and academic benefits. Some people say that pushing for late school starts is unacceptable while the majority of other state later school start times are exceptional. School starts should be pushed back because kids are more energized, and receive health benefits.

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.

Despite the overwhelming evidence given by current research, many people refuse to change school start times because of the lack of noticeable impact some schools had or the impact it had on some people’s schedules. Pannoni cites a statement by the Iowa City Community School District which found that “the later start time . . . [did] not reduce the number of tardy students by any appreciable amount.” The principal of Ballard High School agreed by saying that he “would be surprised to see large improvements in either attendance or grade data compared with past years” (Pannoni). Many schools refused to change because of how the later start and dismissal times would affect extracurricular activities and students with jobs. This change would also interfere with bus schedules and childcare habits. However, these seem like small problems that can be overcome when the results are that “later school start times were associated with students sleeping longer at night, less tardiness, having higher test scores, being less depressed, using less caffeine and other drugs, . . . and experiencing fewer morning car crashes” (Fenwick).

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.

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.

Being a High schooler in today's society is hard, especially when you dread getting up at 6 o’clock (or earlier) every morning, and pressing snooze so many times to the point where you have to miss out on breakfast and rush to school. If school started 30 minutes to an hour later every day, it would help students in plenty of ways: alertness, better test scores, and teachers would also enjoy it because students would be more responsive. There would be some extra costs for bussing, though. Hudsonville High school should definitely look into and consider later start times, for it would benefit both the students and teachers.

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.

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

Opinions about schools starting time differ all over the United States. Many districts around the United States are trying to start a movement to have school start later than they usually do. 70 districts across the nation are going to start at 8:45. If this happens, it can change the schedules of a big amount of students tremendously. In the article on Newsela, facts are stated about how lots of schools use scientists advice for when they should start school. Based on the article titled, ¨More zzz’s can lead to more A’s: Seattle Schools Move Start Time for Teens¨, one believes that Beaumont High School should not change the start time to begin class later due to transportation,sports’ schedules, and the late dismissal.

According to a 2015 CDC study 72% of high school students felt they were not getting enough sleep. We've all been there. But many medical associations agree that the effect of prolonged sleep deprivation could be detrimental to teen health. This is why the AMA suggests that middle schools and high schools should start no earlier than 8:30 in the morning. Unfortunately, the average starts time for high-schools is 7:59A.M and for middle schools it’s 8:04A.M (NCES).Middle schools and high schools should follow the AMA’s recommendations because it will improve student's health, academic wellness, and may actually help prevent fatalities in motor vehicle

Since it is hard for students to fall asleep early, high schools around the United States that have changed to later start times have seen improvements in students, and not just academically, but in other aspects of a teen’s life too. There are some disadvantages to changing the school start time to a later time, but the advantages outnumber the disadvantages. Due to the fact that teens are not able to fall asleep early because of melatonin and the harm that early start times have on children, makes it clear that high schools should start later in the morning.

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.

One of the reasons that school should be started later is because it does not give growing teens enough time to sleep. Sleep researcher, Wendy Troxel, who spoke on TED, says that high school aged kids’ sleep cycles do no start until 11 p.m and do not end until 8 a.m. This means that whenever students’ alarms go off from anywhere around 5-7:30 a.m, it simply does not

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.