Why Schools Should Start Later Meredith Grey is a senior in high school and stayed up all night studying for finals, she closes her eyes for just a second and her alarm went off to get ready for school. She hopped into her old beat up car and drove until she was down the street from her high school when she got into a horrible car crash. 58% of teenagers car accident fatalities were drivers. According to a study done in 2008 in The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (car) crash rates fell by 16.5% in the two years after a school district shifted its start times an hour later, compared to the two years before (Time Magazine). Well, other studies have also shown, waking up early causes students to have lower grades and do not perform as well as students who get the appropriate amount of sleep for adolescents. This is unacceptable because students are given large amounts of homework, on top of …show more content…
She was an A+ student, going to ace finals when she got into a horrible car crash crossing an intersection around the corner from her school. So close, yet so far. According to the Telegraph in an article called, “Teenagers should start school later to avoid car crashes, suicide, and depression,” it states that, “73 percent of deaths from unintentional injury in teenagers,” are caused by teens who have insufficient sleep, both are also associated with, “an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents” (Knapton). This is important because it proves that there’s such a big number of deaths caused by lack of sleep, and involving motor vehicles, all a result of school starting too early. If this story hit you hard, this situation is not a one time deal, it has happened plenty of times all over the world. This is all a result of not enough sleep. If schools were to start later, the percentage of deaths would decrease majorly, because students would be more aware of what is going on on the