Why High School Should Start Later

For most high school students, Monday mornings can be a real drag and some may say it’s like that every morning. Every weekday students are getting up before 6 a.m. so they have enough time to get ready for school. For a lot of teens, it is hard to function properly at this early of a time. If schools would start just an hour later, students would have a better chance of getting the recommended amount of sleep each night. Waking up from a good night's sleep will always have a positive effect on one’s attitude the next day. Not only will students be rested, the teachers will be too. I’m sure teachers will be delighted to have a classroom full of happy and attentive students instead of sleepy and cranky ones. So why hasn’t the start time been changed if it so many benefits? It could be because people don’t like change or because of the disruption in morning routines. Making sure students get the best education should be priority. With starting high school one hour later, it would improve student attendance, health, and academic achievements.
Studies show lack of sleep decreases concentration, lowers attention spans, causes forgetfulness, and slows reaction time. Students tend to make more errors with less sleep and this has a direct impact on test scores and grades. Our brains are affected by the amount of sleep we get and the less sleep we get the less it works. It’s just common sense. The more sleep a person gets, the better they will function. The skills we need to use for math and languages are in the part of the brain that is very sensitive to inadequate sleep. No matter how interesting a teacher is making their early morning class, most students will be too sleepy to remember or understand what was just said. Studies have shown by delaying the school day by just 15 minutes students reported getting better grades compared to the schools that started