School Start Times Affect Teenagers Health A teenagers sleep/wake cycle can be two to three hours different than younger kids and adults. Later start times could help teenagers get the sleep they desperately need. Many students report of being tired during the school day. Therefore this is an important topic to look at because of all the problems this is creating for teenagers and young adults. Many schools across the United States start school before 8:30AM, which is not only unhealthy for teens but it can also be dangerous. FIrst of all, almost all teenagers in the United States do not get the required amount of sleep they need in order to focus throughout the day. According to the website startschoollater.com The average American high school starts at 7:59AM (page 1). It is important for students in middle and high school to get about 9 hours of sleep each night. Starting school later can increase scores on tests and help kids do better in classes throughout the day. Later start times can help attendance rates, students attention in class, and it can increase students GPAs. There are many benefits to teachers and students from starting schools later in the morning. Many people believe that moving ahead start times can help students perform better in school. Doctors and pediatricians say that schools should …show more content…
Almost 40% of high schools start class before 8:00AM which can lead to sleep deprivation in teens. A normal middle or high school student is lucky to get 6-7 hours of sleep when they should be getting 8-10 hours each night. About 30% of students report falling asleep in class at least once a week according to time.com (page 1). For a long time lots of parents have tried to get a later start to the school day for teenagers, but so far most of them have not been successful. It is obvious that later start times would correct a lot of problems and help people pay more attention in