Why Do School Start Later?

Have you ever felt like you were frequently tired during your high school years? There is reason behind why many people feel this way. Many students do not feel like they get enough sleep because early school start times require them to get up at an early hour in the morning. The average school start time across the United States is 8:03 a.m. but many schools start earlier than that, sometimes requiring students to come to school at 7:30 a.m. (Gallagher). Having such an early start has been proven to be harmful to students’ physical health, emotional health, and academic performance. Considering the many positive effects, school start times should be later in the morning.

To begin with, starting later is beneficial to the physical health

Studies have shown that depression in teenagers can be directly linked to a lack of sleep which can come from having to get up so early in the morning for school (“School Start Time”). If schools are trying their best to lessen depression and anxiety in their students, they should strongly consider starting later because although not all cases of depression have to do with a lack of sleep, a lot of them do. Also, lack of sleep can lead to problems with moods in teenagers. In an article titled, “What Lack of Sleep Does to Your Mind,” it states that lack of sleep “causes irritability and anger and may lessen your ability to cope with stress” (Peri). This is very problematic because irritability and anger can cause problems in teenagers’ relationships with others. Also, a lessened ability to handle stress is harmful especially to teenagers because many students are given heavy workloads in classes and time-consuming sports and work schedules. All of these mental health effects from lack of sleep are not just short-term problems, they can be long-term and can have a negative effect later on in students’ daily lives and even in their workplaces. If schools started later, there would be positive effects such as the increase in positive thinking, the possible decrease in cases of depression, and even reduced anger problems in

In the article titled “Why School Should Start Later in the Morning,” author Emily Richmond states that “Researchers analyzed data from more than 9,000 students at eight high schools in Minnesota, Colorado, and Wyoming and found that shifting the school day later in the morning resulted in a boost in attendance, test scores, and grades in math, English, science, and social studies” (Richmond). On the other hand, if schools do not start earlier, grades and academics will not improve or will not be as high as they could be because of the effects lack of sleep has on the brain. For example, regular thought processes are slower in people if they do not get enough sleep; people are more prone to a lack of alertness and a lack of concentration (Peri). So, it is harder for students to focus in classrooms and pay attention to the tasks at hand. A lack of sleep can also impair one’s memory making it difficult for students to retain the material they learn in school (Peri). These effects apply to student athletes as well; if an athlete does not get enough sleep as he needs, his performance in his sport will not be as stellar because of his inability to be as alert and as focused as he