Why School Should Start Later

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When your alarm clock rings, or your parents yell at you in the morning, do you feel like

you have just laid your head down to sleep? I, as a teen myself, can relate. It is a rather simple

remedy for a chronic problem among adolescents. The pros definitely outweigh the cons when it

comes to starting school later in the morning. That’s why I am in support of having a later start

time for each school and it is a well known fact that starting later has health benefits, academic

benefits, and safety benefits.

Another well known fact is that high school students tend to be too tired when they come

to school. Most teenagers get their best sleep between the hours of 11pm and 8am (Wake).

When school begins at 8am, a student has to …show more content…

A sleep deprived teen is more likely to use tobacco and alcohol and less likely

to be able to handle everyday stressors in their lives.

There are many academic benefits associated with getting an adequate amount of sleep

each night (Backgrounder). When a person is not sleep deprived they are better able to pay

attention in class. They are better problem solvers, which is especially helpful with testing

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(Backgrounder). They are able to stay alert in class and not take an afternoon nap during history.

Another academic benefit associated with a good night’s sleep is the ability to better retain

information (Backgrounder).

You may wonder why I have included safety benefits with starting school later. It has

been proven that young people who do not get enough sleep night after night have a significantly

greater risk for drowsy driving (Backgrounder). They also have poor impulse control with

slower reaction times (Backgrounder). These combined factors greatly increase the risk of car

crashes among teens. Irritability and violence are also increased when an adolescent is sleep

deprived, which leads to arguments and fights in school.

Now some may want to argue that a later start time would just encourage teenagers

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