Why High School Should Start Later

Many schools around the country are presented with the question, “Should high schools move their starting hours to better accommodate students?” From the multiple studies conducted by the University of Minnesota, it is shown that moving the starting time to later in the day is nothing but beneficial to students. Studies show that high schools that start at 8:30 am or later are better for students in all aspects of life. One of the biggest contributing factors to this is the major benefit to teenager’s sleep patterns. Improved sleep patterns promote a reduction in teen car crashes, better decision-making, lower depression rates, and a reduction in caffeine consumption. Starting schools later has been proven to positively influence a student’s grades and test scores, along …show more content…
This is more sleep than you needed before you were a teenager, and it is more than you will need when you are an adult.” This article goes further into talking about all the aspects of life that a lack of sleep can affect: memory, motivation, and concentration. All of these factors play a huge role in a learning environment. Another shocking statistic was found during the three-year study conducted by the University of Minnesota, where moving school start times had a huge impact on a teen’s safety. During the study, it was shown that 70% of teen accidents were reduced when starting school only 80 minutes later. This allows students to be better focused on the road, less tired, and lower stress levels. The rates of teens abusing substances, depression numbers in teens, and their use of caffeine all decreased too. This in turn improves their health and keeps them safer. Academics were also affected by the change. The study demonstrates this in many forms, but the one that stands out the most is GPA. Out of the six schools, five of them reported an increase in GPA, for all classes in high

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Why School Should Start Later In High School