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Persuasive Essay: Should Schools Have Later Start Times?

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Persuasive Essay: Should Schools Have Later Start Times?
In the morning when students wake up they are usually tired. The reason for this is because school starts way too early. The lack of sleep is causing students to have behavioral issues, get into automobile accidents, and suffer from physical and mental disabilities. Schools should have later start times because sleep for teens is important and the lack of sleep is unhealthy for them. Sleep is crucial for a teenager. Teenagers are suppose to get 9-10 hours a sleep per night, but the average sleep an adolescent gets per night is 7 hours (Backgrounder). The reason for this is because teenagers internal clocks change during puberty. Children cannot fall asleep until about 11:00pm and stay in “sleep mode” until about 8:00am, again because their …show more content…
The American Academy of Pediatrics say that secondary schools should start no earlier than 8:30am, but 5 out of every 6 schools start earlier than that. Also, studies show, when children don’t get enough sleep, they can suffer from physical and mental problems. those studies show that there was an increased risk in automobile accidents and a drop in academic performance (Education Week). Lastly, lack of sleep can cause teens to have behavioral issues, such as smoking, drinking, stimulant abuse, physical fights, not being active, depression, and suicidal thoughts and/or actions (Fast Facts). Having later start times would definitely have an impact on teenage health. Somebody might say that if children didn’t say up so late, if they went to bed earlier, there would be no problems, kids would be more awake(Education Week), but they are wrong. An adolescent's internal clock changes during puberty, also they can’t fall asleep until about 11:00pm (Backgrounder). Somebody may also argue that later start times would interfere with tight family schedules and sports, but isn’t the child’s health more important than schedules that could easily be changed? In conclusion, middle and high schools should have later start times for the reasons listed above. Schools should begin starting later, but on a more local level should have later start times in the

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