Explain Why High School Should Start Later Essay

Benjamin Franklin wrote, ¨Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” However, this saying does not apply to teenagers and the time they start school. High schools should start later for many reasons. Despite the fact that some people may argue that start times may impact student extracurriculars, high schools should start later because it improves grades, reduces health problems, and decreases the risk of teens driving while tired. Some people may think that high schools should not start later because later start times may interfere with student extracurriculars. They believe that starting later in the morning may cause less time for student activities and homework in the afternoon. However, this claim is invalid because later start times will not impact the times of student extracurriculars greatly. In fact, sixty-five percent of high school sports practices start later than six o’clock (Baker 1) . Also, according to Scientific American, "In hundreds of districts that have made the change, students do not have a harder time fitting in after-school activities such as sports or in keeping part-time jobs." Despite the fact that some people may argue that high schools should not start later because it may

Teenagers need eight and a half to nine and a half hours of sleep each night to be healthy. (Lewis 1) However, studies by the National Sleep Foundation show that two-thirds of high school students get less than seven hours of sleep per night (Webb 1). Not getting enough sleep can cause health problems such as obesity, depression, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke (Richmond 1) .Not only that, sleep is necessary to perform important brain functions, so without it, teens may be more depressed, anxious, and moody (Swan 1) . School starting later can help teens get the sleep they need to be