Anders Crenshaw

10/14/19

Jackson

MAWD

Why Schools Should Start Later

Sleep in one of the most important things you could possibly get in your life, especially
in your teen years. Sleep helps your body recharge and re energize again for all of your daily
tasks that range from school, sports and work. It is very important to teens to get a good amount
of sleep every night in order to succeed in school. Loss of sleep can result in a variety of life
threatening decisions and can be harmful for your health.
Loss of sleep can result in symptoms such as being overweight, not engaging in enough
daily physical activity, suffering from symptoms of depression, engaging in unhealthy risky
behaviors such as drinking, smoking, and using illegal drugs, as well as performing poorly in
school. A simple solution to these behaviors from loss of sleep is to start schools later.
Later school start times can help teens get a sufficient amount of sleep each night. It is
recommended that teenagers should sleep 8 to 10 hours a night. But according to the CDC,
almost 70% of high-school students report sleeping 7 hours or less on a regular basis. Later
school start times can also reduce the number of automobile accidents caused by teens. In a study
in 2008, done by the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, crash rates fell by 16.5% in the two
years after a school district shifted its start times an hour later, compared to the two years before.
Some might say that the teens should just go to bed earlier, however, there is a problem with
that.
The reason teens don't get the recommended amount of sleep can come from something
that can happen during puberty. As children get closer to approaching and going through
puberty, their brain starts to produce the sleep-inducing hormone called melatonin that now goes
on a delayed schedule. This makes it difficult for them to feel tired any time before 11pm. So, in
order to get a sufficient amount of sleep, a teen would need to sleep until 7:30 or later a least
when going to sleep a 11pm in order to get the proper amount of sleep.
 Another benefit of later start times is that more students will be at school and on time.
One huge reason why some students are late or don't show up to school is that they slept in late
after not getting enough sleep. However, later school start times could decrease the number of
absences and tardiness from school. Some students may have to go to a doctor’s or dentist’s
office in the morning, so, later school start times could allow these students to get to school on
time at least not miss as much classwork.
On the other hand, later school start times could interrupt school transportation and
after-school activities. If most schools in a county have a similar start time, there could be a lack
of school buses available for every school. It can also interrupt after-school activities such as
clubs and sports because school would let out later. However, I think the risk is worth it.
In conclusion, later school start times can reduce risky behaviors, improve student sleep
time and health, and make students safer on the road. The simple change can vastly improve the
life of a student.