School Needs to Start Later

School Needs to Start Later

           There is no doubt that high school students start off the day tired.  Some even turn to coffee to help them wake up.  Nine hours of sleep, on average, are necessary for adolescents.  Most teenagers are unable to get this much sleep due to extremely early start times in high school.  As a result, they need another hour or two of sleep every night.  School should really start around 9:00.  This would reduce the amount of time for a student to do homework in the afternoon; however it leaves a possibility for the student to finish up their work in the morning.  High school should start later in the day because students wake up too early, they are not focused enough in their earlier classes, and the use of coffee is an unhealthy way for young students to wake up.

Studies show that on average, high school students wake up for school at 6:30am.  School starts on average at 7:30, meaning he or she needs to leave one’s house around 7:00, whether he or she walks, gets a ride, or takes the bus.  This gives high school students about a half hour to shower and eat breakfast (a.k.a. the most important meal of the day).  Studies also show that on average, students go to bed around 10:15 – 10:30.  This gives students about eight hours of sleep.  During adolescence, teens require a little over nine hours to sleep to be fully functional the next day, according to the sleep foundation. An Illinois high school ran a study of how many hours of sleep high school students are getting. (graph above). An easy solution is to tell the students to go to sleep earlier rather than later in the evening.  The problem is, however, if you play a sport you have practice every day and students have at least an hour and a half of homework every night. Some students also have jobs they need to fit into their schedule.  And of course, they also need to eat dinner.  There just is not enough time for students to do all of these things after school and get to bed on time and be ready for the next day.

Being focused in class is very important especially when the teacher has the students take notes.  Teachers give students no excuse for being too tired to stay awake in class.  A student needs to be focused to understand the material that he or she is being taught.  If he or she is not getting the required nine hours of sleep to be fully focused, then there is no way for the student to learn to his or her potential.  This can result in lower test grades which can look bad not only for the student, but also for the school.  For the student to learn more, school needs to start around 9:00 and go until about 3:30.  This would give the student more time in the morning, allowing more time to sleep, and to make sure that no student skips breakfast because they do not have enough time.  With a later school day start, eating breakfast, having all of their work done, and having more time to sleep, almost guarantees that grades and morale for school will go up.

High school students should not have to depend on coffee in the morning.  Studies show that 10% of consumers that go into Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are teenagers under 18. Coffee can become so addicting that it is hard to go a day without it. A recent study shows that over 14% of coffee drinkers are age 13-24. The day that a student does go without it, he or she will not have the energy and strive that is needed on a normal basis.   A student should not have to depend on coffee to keep them going throughout the day, especially early in the day in their first period class at 7:30.  If classes started at 9:00, a student would most likely wake up between 7:45 and 8:00, giving them over an extra hour of sleep.  If a student got this extra hour, they will not need their morning coffee.

High school needs to start later in the morning because students wake up too early, they are not focused enough in their earlier classes, and coffee is not a healthy way for young students to wake up.  This will result in higher test grades, less students falling asleep in class, and maybe even more excitement to go to school.   There are nine hours of sleep required to be at your best during the day and high school students simply  are not getting enough sleep.  Now think, should your school be starting later in the day?

Sources

http://www.uni.illinois.edu/og/news/2008/03/running-empty-look-student-sleeping-h

http://www.fastbreakbev.com/blog.php#.VE7jlvl4opA
http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep