Why School Should Start Later In High School

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How many of teens in this room can say you get the amount of sleep you need? Now did you know 8.5 to 9.25 hours is the amount of sleep teens, or the average person, needs for optimal performance and health? (School Start Later, Healthy Hours). Neurologists say teenagers are predisposed to go to sleep around midnight, and not feel fully awake and engaged until between nine and ten a.m., and as the research shows, adolescents are far more likely to rise later than to fall asleep earlier. So what is the hold up? Schools should be starting later in the morning, when our brains are fully prepared for the day of learning. The current issues, the benefits, and the teens body clock are the three main reasons I think school should hold a later start time.
This is why the current start time for school is an issue. The average starting time for high schools across the United States is 8:03 a.m., and after surveying approximately 40,000 high schools, only 17.7% of them started at 8:30 a.m. or later. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Typical sleep cycles begin around 11 p.m. and continues through 8 a.m. This means an early wake up call to get up and ready for school, requires students to wake in the middle of deep sleep. Kids who are tired can't learn at
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and ends at 11-12 p.m. Their body clock remains in this state until 21 for males and 19 for females. (The Telegraph). If you wake early and get outside, the body’s master clock tends to shift earlier. So the problem with this is, teens may have limited exposure to morning light. Often they are on a bus or class during the peak morning hours. Spend a few minutes outside before going to school. Later start time means you will have time in the morning to, instead wake up in a dark house and only be outside for the moments it takes you to get back indoors of school. You are alert when it’s light and wake up faster than staying in the dark where you stay