In 2013 sleep deprived drivers were responsible for 800 deaths in America. This number is underestimated though. There are up to 1,600 deaths per year caused by drowsy driving. Drowsy driving can be compared to drunk drivers who cause about 11,000 deaths a year. Everybody in here either has their license, has their permit, or is in the process of getting their permit. Soon all of us are going to be responsible for other people 's lives while being behind the wheel. We need to be careful and alert when we drive so we don 't put others at risk, but we don 't get enough sleep to do that. School needs to start later because students are not getting proper amounts of sleep, and that could risk their physical and mental health.
Though sleep deprivation doesn 't always have such a dramatic affect on us it can still cause us to not pay attention as well and not perform our best in and out of school. Students in America are trying to balance school, extra curricular activities, homework, and try to fit sleep somewhere in there. Research says that teenagers need to get between 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 hours of sleep every night in order to be at their prime. While only 15% gets 8 or above hours of sleep the average student gets 6 or less every night. Students are losing sleep every day and are expected and told regularly that they have to do everything
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First, sleep is a necessity to life just like food or water. If you don 't get enough sleep you don 't function right. As I 've already told you there were 800 deaths caused by sleep deprived drivers 3 years ago. They didn 't get enough sleep and weren 't in the right mind to be able to focus on what they were doing and it caused a tragic thing to happen. Many of those drivers could 've been students just like you and me that were studying for that AP Bio test they had that day. Little did they know they would never get to take it. Our bodies need sleep and are constantly giving us signs when they know we do. We just need to