Why School Should Start Later In High School

Words: 756
Pages: 4
Open Document
How many of teens in this room can say you get the amount of sleep you need? Now did you know 8.5 to 9.25 hours is the amount of sleep teens, or the average person, needs for optimal performance and health? (School Start Later, Healthy Hours). Neurologists say teenagers are predisposed to go to sleep around midnight, and not feel fully awake and engaged until between nine and ten a.m., and as the research shows, adolescents are far more likely to rise later than to fall asleep earlier. So what is the hold up? Schools should be starting later in the morning, when our brains are fully prepared for the day of learning. The current issues, the benefits, and the teens body clock are the three main reasons I think school should hold a later start time.
This is why the current start time for school is an issue. The average starting time for high schools across the United States is 8:03 a.m., and after surveying approximately 40,000 high schools, only 17.7% of them started at 8:30 a.m. or later. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Typical sleep cycles begin around 11 p.m. and continues through 8 a.m. This means an early wake up call to get up and ready for school, requires students to wake in the middle of deep sleep. Kids who are tired can't learn at …show more content…
and ends at 11-12 p.m. Their body clock remains in this state until 21 for males and 19 for females. (The Telegraph). If you wake early and get outside, the body’s master clock tends to shift earlier. So the problem with this is, teens may have limited exposure to morning light. Often they are on a bus or class during the peak morning hours. Spend a few minutes outside before going to school. Later start time means you will have time in the morning to, instead wake up in a dark house and only be outside for the moments it takes you to get back indoors of school. You are alert when it’s light and wake up faster than staying in the dark where you stay
Show More

Related Documents: Why School Should Start Later In High School

Why High School Should Start Later

Isabella Bishop DeWorken Advanced English 9 16 May 2024 High Schools Should Start Later Teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep, but they normally go to bed around midnight or later. This is an issue for their mental and physical health. If schools start later, then students might be able to get the 8 hours, they need. It would decrease sleepy teens in school, students being late to first block, and more. High schools should adopt later start times to better align with students' sleep patterns, improving…

Words 1080 - Pages 5

Why High School Should Start Later

refreshed and not thinking, “Why can’t I sleep for just ten more minutes?” All high school students out there would answer these questions with an enthusiastic “yes”, because it is every student’s wish that schools start later. High schools should schedule their school days to start at 9:00 am or later, because that would increase the students’ concentration, it would be safer and more convenient, and it would create a better environment at school. Firstly, later school days would be a huge help for…

Words 539 - Pages 3

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…

Words 535 - Pages 3

Why We Should Start Later In High School

schedules: sleep. From after school activities to sports to work and to homework, teenagers barely have the time to take a breath. Sleep is a necessity that we cannot afford to lose, but unfortunately, high schools across the nation begin the day much earlier than many teenagers can tolerate, and because of this, students have been negatively impacted by this lack of sleep. Nearly 10% of all high schools in the United States start school before 7:30 am, and another 40% start before 8:00 am. This schedule…

Words 1067 - Pages 5

Why High School Should Start Later

go through a whole school day as well as their sports practices, go home, and repeat their whole schedule every day. Students who have such busy plans need an adequate amount of sleep each night to give them energy throughout the day. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that students who are thirteen to eighteen years old should get eight to ten hours of sleep regularly (Hicks). Unfortunately, according to the Centers of Disease Control, about seventy percent of high schoolers say that…

Words 668 - Pages 3

Why High School Should Start Later

High schoolers around the U.S. are waking up too early for their bodies to be completely done with processes done while sleeping. Starting high school classes later would benefit students because they would sleep more at night and be more alert in school. Students need to sleep more because it allows the body more time to rejuvenate and become more healthy. First, studies have shown that the average teen should get 9-10 hours of sleep per night, while the average teen normally gets only 7-8 hours…

Words 428 - Pages 2

Why High School Should Start Later

School Needs Start Later Imagine waking up to an alarm clock, at six in the morning. Getting up is arguably the most difficult task to do in the morning. Equally as difficult, is trying to sleep before 11 PM. Imagine doing this, for 180 days in a year. WIthin the school year, a lack of sleep may also decrease grades. Middle School and High school need later start times. To add on, waking up is also difficult and may also affect school performance. Toronto University psychologist Professor…

Words 442 - Pages 2

Why High School Should Start Later Essay

7:00 AM, and you will be late if you snooze it once more. You were up too late last night, and nothing sounds more inviting than your bed. High school students are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities or may need to work an after school job, and often feel this way in the morning. The fact is that there is not enough time in the day to fit school, extracurriculars, and homework all while still maintaining a healthy social life and most importantly, receiving a sufficient amount of…

Words 946 - Pages 4

Essay On Why High School Should Start Later

I believe high school should start at a later time. I think this because studies have shown that a high percentage of students aren’t even awake yet. Scientist say the body needs awhile to fully awaken and seven in the morning for teenages is not the correct time. Starting later means a later school day as well. Pushing back everything else including extra curricular activities. This places most activities out of the hot evening sun and the cooler part of the day. There is also all of the morning…

Words 573 - Pages 3

Why High School Should Start Later Essay

High school is one of the most stressful and important part of a student’s educational career and can change a student’s life for the better or worse. Many students complain about how the school day beings way to early saying things like, “I didn’t get any sleep last night because I had to study for the test today.” or “I slept through my alarm and got to school late.” The board of education is debating on starting high school later, but that would only make matters worse. High school shouldn’t start…

Words 655 - Pages 3