Why Do Later School Start Later

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Have you ever felt so sleepy at school that you could not hold up your head? Teenagers require a lot of sleep. Most teens are not getting enough sleep, and they are feeling groggy at school. This lack of sleep could be interfering with a teenager’s ability to thrive at school. Do you think you would benefit from a later school start time? According to the Centers for Disease Control, 83% of schools start earlier than 8:30am. Maybe this needs to change with school days starting later.
First, teenage students do not get enough sleep. “Two-thirds of high school students today fail to get even eight hours of sleep on school nights,” according to the CDC. Nowadays, many teens are consumed by technology which may be keeping them up at night. Also, extracurricular activities, such as sports, contribute to decreased sleep time because of late games or practices. These things, plus homework, could result in a student getting in bed way after midnight on some nights. Secondly, on average, teenagers require more sleep than an adult. According to Sarah McKibben, in her article ”Wake Up Calls,” most ”Teens need 8.5-9.25 hours of sleep each night” (7). A teen’s body uses sleep time to mature and grow. According to USA Today, it is recommended by pediatricians that schools should start at 8:30am. This would allow for kids to get some
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In Danny Lewis’ article, “Sleep Scientists Say School Days Should Start Later”, Anne Wheaton said, “Getting enough sleep is important for students’ health, safety, and academic performance.” In an effort to improve student health and performance, some British scientists have even argued for school start times as late as 10am. Teens need to be healthy at their age because adolescence is a very important time for growth and development. Lack of sleep could interfere with this process which could result in poor student performance at school