Imagine a world filled with students who are prepared, engaged, and awake to learn. Psychologists and researchers show that starting school later can improve physical and mental health, attendance, and academic performance.
Sleep is a key essential to our body; it benefits our behavior, learning, emotional regulation, etc. and unfortunately students don’t meet the required amount of sleep that is recommended. “Adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 should sleep 8 to 10 hours per day, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine” (American Psychological Association). Lacking sleep “is linked to many chronic health problems, including heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and depression.”
On the other hand, researchers show that waking up at an earlier time could also be beneficial; waking up at an earlier time means you will end school at an earlier time, which allows more time to do extracurricular activities, get your homework done, go to sports practice, go to work, etc. Waking up earlier would not only be favorable for students but also for parents and teachers. Teachers could get their work done after school without having to worry about how late it is. Parents would not have to worry about their children coming home late, and the start time could blend in with their work schedule more smoothly.
However, most high school students are engaged with overscheduled extracurriculars, jobs, heavy homework, and other things, which takes time out of their time to sleep. Students having a lack of sleep would most likely cause them to press snooze on their alarm, which results in them being late to class. Being late affects their attendance and makes them miss instructions in class, resulting in failing grades and possibly not graduating on time.
Overall, school starting later can have a beneficial impact on student lives. By giving teenagers the sleep they need, we can improve their well-being and improve their academic performance. A later start time could create a healthier, more productive learning environment that could be beneficial for their future.
Sources:
● Schools shift as evidence mounts that later start times improve teens’ learning and
well-being
● The Importance of Student Sleep Health.
● School Start Times, Sleep, Behavioral, Health, and Academic Outcomes: a Review
of the Literature
● 4 Benefits of Later School Start Times
● Why Is Sleep Important?
● What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency? – NHLBI
● How Much Sleep Is Enough?
Picture credits:
● Later High School Start Times Would Benefit Students, But Create Other Problems
| KSFR
● Should School Start Later? | Scholastic Action
● Later School Start Times: Lazy or Legit? | University of Utah Health
