Why School Should Start Later Essay

566 Words3 Pages

Waking up early in the morning is hated by many students. Almost every day students are waking up around six o'clock in the morning to get ready for school, some even earlier. It is not necessary for classes to start at 7:55. It is really early for teenage minds to function properly. Schools should start an hour later than that. With an extra hour, attendance would improve, as well as the grades and behavior. While many people argue that if school starts later there would be no time for after school programs.

It’s a proven fact that teenagers need 8 hours of sleep each night. A delayed start time could help teens sleep during their natural sleep/wake cycles. "Starting school at 8:30 AM or later gives teens a better opportunity to get the sufficient sleep they need to learn and function at their highest level," said lead author and AASM Past President Nathaniel Watson in a statement. With an extra hour, it would be much easier for students to get to school on time. For the 1997-1998 school year, the University of Minnesota conducted a study on Minneapolis high schools. Their school …show more content…

Many researchers have shown that children grades improve with an increase of hours of sleep which implies later time of starting school schedule. Studies show that students are more alert after nine o'clock. With school starting at 7:55, the first two periods do not really affect the students. Students aren't really focusing on their studies and they aren't learning to their full potential. Also, part of the reason why students don't get enough sleep is because they are up late studying. Students come home from school, study, eat dinner, do their homework and then go to bed right away which isn't good. They need to get breaks so they can talk to friends and watch T.V. With an extra hour of sleep, students would feel more awake and they would be ready to attend their first