Why 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.

In a recent survey 97% of students wanted school to start later. Students should be able to go to school later because of many health problems. Teens have bad sleep habits and other after school activities that inhibit them from doing well in schools that start early in the morning. Right now school causes lack of sleep and is one cause in child obesity. Starting school at least an hour later can greatly improve the health of students and how well they can do academically. Schools should start later to accommodate teen sleep patterns.

School could be a pain, especially forcing yourself to wake up early in the morning just to go to school. We could at least wake up more later than early in the morning if we are going to school. Imagine if you could go to school later than usually. This plan actually help students. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging education policymakers to start middle- and high-school classes later in the morning. The idea is to improve the odds of adolescents getting sufficient sleep so they can thrive both physically and academically. The school day should start more later because student needs enough sleep, students could get excessive sleepiness in adolescents and

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.

School starting later does have it’s positive affects it also has its negative effects as well. School starting later would allow students to sleep later, but according to the High Schools with late start times help teens but schedules and after-school can conflict, “potential complications,such as additional costs if buses were added, child-care issues where late-day schedules might prevent teens from picking up younger siblings after school, and implications for teams if they end up playing in the dark.” According to Fox News Megan Kuhfeld says, a student in California,” I enjoyed waking up later than everyone else in the area next to me where there were early start times, but as a member of the tennis team, she had to miss sixth and seventh period classes to compete at other schools.” Although school starting later would give teens more time to sleep, it would cause conflicts between their schedules after

As a teacher who wouldn’t want more sleep? This will benefit everyone because you will have time to eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and not everyone

“Each fall, groggy teenagers resign themselves to another year of fighting their body clocks so they can get to class on time. It’s well known that teens who don’t get at least eight hours of sleep a night face a slew of problems,” -Los Angeles Times. This quote proves expresses how kids feel waking up in the morning, absolute dread. An advantage of starting school later would be that our kids would

For instance, students are more healthier by starting school later because they get enough sleep. It’s also important for student’s health, safety, and academic performances. ”(Anne Wheaton, pg 10) Also, a quote by a lead author said, “Early school start times, however, are preventing many adolescents from getting the sleep they need.” (lead author and Epidemiologist in CDC’s Division of Population Health) Therefore, schools starting later improves health, safety , and academic performance of students.

School starting later in the morning has many benefits. One is that all the students could easily get the 8.5- 9.5 hours of sleep the students need each night (“Wake Up Calls”). The odds of them getting that much sleep are much higher if school would start later in the morning. It is proven that students learn better when they are awake and when

R- student A- school board F- argumentative T- should school time be pushed back? S- include, explain, list Dear, School Board Do you think that the you should push back the time that school starts to 9:00 a.m? I don't. Studies show that adolescents need at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep at night for their brains to function properly.

To begin with, school should start later because children will be more focused while learning. As per the article Teens May Do Better When School Starts Later in time.com by Amanda MacMillan, “It asserts that if middle- and high-school students are allowed to wake up later in the morning, they’ll be more focused during the day, more alert behind the wheel and less likely to be late to (or absent from) school.” This means students will be more attentive and willing to learn because they will have had enough sleep. This will lead to better grades. Therefore, starting school later can help the children focus in school because they won’t be sleepy.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! I am pushed out of my blissful dream and pulled into reality, my eyes don’t want to open, just for the noise to stop so I can go back to that wonderful peaceness in my warm bed. It’s my alarm going off, for a second I consider hitting the snooze for those extra five minutes, but I know if I do it’ll be another rushing-to-get-ready-morning. Schools should really start later! Ninety percent of teens are sleep deprived and I am one of them. Starting school about an hour later has many benefits as shown in hundreds of schools around the country. Some of these benefits include: students feeling more awake, better test scores, better attention spans and improved health. Changing school times can help students exponentially.

First, starting school later would improve the health and wellness of students. Teenagers risk their health by going to sleep late at night and waking up early in the morning for school. The average teenager from 14 to 17 years old needs an estimated eight to ten hours of sleep every night. Due to the stressful nature of school, teenagers are unable to get a recommended amount of sleep. Lack of sleep is not healthy for developing adolescent, since many body systems rely on sleep and do not run well with reduced amounts of it. Moreover, the academics of students would improve with a later school start time. The focus and work ethic that students have in school is dependent on the amount of sleep that they get. Without the necessary amount of sleep, teenagers struggle to concentrate in their classes. Allowing students to get more sleep would increase this

“...a change in start time from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in Fayette County, Kentucky yielded a dramatic decrease in car accident rates for 16-18 year olds, while rates actually increased in the rest of the state for 17-18 year olds” (Erde) It is important that schools start later so students have a significantly less chance of getting into a car accident. Many students find themselves rushing to school in the morning so they don’t get marked late by their teacher. Without realizing it, they are increasing their chances of getting into a car accident. “...the high school start time was changed from 7:20 to 8:40, giving the kids an extra hour and 20 minutes each morning. In a report to NPR, Wahlstrom said, ‘students reported less depression when their was a later starting time … and teachers reported that students were more alert and ready for learning’” (Erde). Students will have enough time to make it on school on time when schools have a later start time. They will also be more alert and ready when they get to school. In conclusion, there are many improvements when schools start later.

A big reason school’s may enjoy having a later start time, is because it can contribute to the school’s success. A later start time can improve the school’s overall test scores (Why We Must - and Can - Restore Safe & Healthy School Hours). Students can learn their best when they are not tired or drowsy. The School Start Later — Healthy Hours campaign stated that, “Academic improvements have been shown, and overall school climate has been measurably improved when high schools have restored later start times,” (Why We Must - and Can - Restore Safe & Healthy School Hours). The sleep researcher mentioned earlier, Wendy Troxel, said in her presentation that when kid’s are woken up by an alarm, they are literally robbed of their dreams. Dreams are associated with learning development. In order for student’s to use the most of their brains, they need to be receiving the right amount of good quality sleep. Not only do test scores rise, but so does the graduation rate, which is a major problem in today’s generation (Why We Must - and Can - Restore Safe & Healthy School Hours). In contribution to the student success, later start times could drastically improve the school’s success. Later start times have increased attendance around