Starting School Later Essay

Starting school later in the day benefits teens and allows them to get their eight hours of sleep increases grades, and promotes a healthier lifestyle. Researchers analyzed data from more than 9,000 students at eight high schools In Minnesota, Colorado, and Wyoming and found out that shifting the school day later in the morning resulted in a boost in attendance, test scores, and grades in math, English and science (Richmond,1). Schools also saw a decrease in tardiness, absences, and symptoms of depression. Some even had a dramatic drop in teen car crashes. The centers for disease control or (CDC) recommends that kids get nine to ten hours of sleep each night, kids who don’t get enough sleep have an increased risk of becoming overweight, depressed and even start struggling academically. Less than one third of US students, are getting 8 hours of sleep on a school night, and four …show more content…
A study had shown that schools in two different cities from Virginia, that start at different times, found an association between earlier classes and more crashes among sleep-deprived students (Holohan, 1). Lack of sleep has a huge negative impact on teens. There is data that shows younger drivers that have inadequate sleep are more likely to have crashes rather than a student who has had eight or more hours of sleep. When teenagers were given an increased sleep time, crash rates dramatically declined 16.5%. Two cities in Virginia (Virginia beach and Chesapeake) have a 41% difference in teen crashes, the reason being that Virginia beach’s classes started at 7:20 AM and Chesapeake’s began at 8:40 AM. Chesapeake’s had 46.2 crashes for every 1,000 teen drivers, compared to 65.4 per 1,000 teen drivers in Virginia beach (Holohan, 2). Younger, inexperienced drivers don’t do well with impairments that affect their alertness such as having to get up earlier than what is natural for