Change School Start Times Nearly all high schools start between seven and eight o’clock in the morning leaving students exhausted during the school day. Because of recent studies a growing number of school districts have or are considering delaying their start time. High school students often fall asleep later and wake up later. Most school start times are opposite to that. A major reason teens do not enjoy school is because they are required to rise up to an hour in advance of the start times to get ready for school. Schools should start later because early start times causes insufficient sleep, which leads to attention problems, emotional and physical health issues, hazardous behaviors, and negative academic outcomes.
Sleep plays an important role in teenagers’ lives. The majority of high school students do not get the suggested amount of sleep at night causing health problems to their developing minds and bodies. According to Julie Boergers, PhD, Christopher J. Gable, BA, and Judith A. Owens, MD, MPH, “...optimal sleep duration remains at 8.5 to 9.5 hours per night.16,17 Thus, the typical teen has difficulty falling asleep before 11:00 p.m. and should wake up about 8:00 a.m. to obtain enough sleep,15 although most American high schools start before 8:00 a.m.” (Boegers, Gable, Owens …show more content…
It is obvious that changing the times would benefit the students and increase the amount of sleep they get. Studies have shown that adolescents natural sleep cycle is to fall asleep late and wake up late which is not congruent with early school start times. Delaying school start times would have a positive effect on students and their attitude toward school. High schools should make their start times later to increase academic performance, reduce health problems caused by an inadequate quantity of
Sleep plays an important role in teenagers’ lives. The majority of high school students do not get the suggested amount of sleep at night causing health problems to their developing minds and bodies. According to Julie Boergers, PhD, Christopher J. Gable, BA, and Judith A. Owens, MD, MPH, “...optimal sleep duration remains at 8.5 to 9.5 hours per night.16,17 Thus, the typical teen has difficulty falling asleep before 11:00 p.m. and should wake up about 8:00 a.m. to obtain enough sleep,15 although most American high schools start before 8:00 a.m.” (Boegers, Gable, Owens …show more content…
It is obvious that changing the times would benefit the students and increase the amount of sleep they get. Studies have shown that adolescents natural sleep cycle is to fall asleep late and wake up late which is not congruent with early school start times. Delaying school start times would have a positive effect on students and their attitude toward school. High schools should make their start times later to increase academic performance, reduce health problems caused by an inadequate quantity of