There are many benefits of high schools and middle schools starting later in the day. It can really help students, teachers, and school administration. The average teenager needs at least 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep to do their best at school and at sports. Starting school later can also prevent teens from dying in motor accidents because less sleep increases the chance of getting in a motor accident. It would also greatly benefits the students lives because more sleep results in a decrease in tardiness, a decrease substance abuse as well as a decrease of symptoms of depression and a decrease in obesity as well as increasing overall quality of life.
For the first time the Federal Centers for Disease Control and prevention are urging middle schools as well as high schools to start later in the day. This will greatly improve adolescents physical and academical performance. In a study of 9,000 students in eight schools in Minnesota, Colorado, and Wyoming found that starting school later improved test scores, a boost in attendance and higher grades in math, english, science and social studies. Schools saw a decrease in tardiness, substance abuse and a symptoms of depression and a dramatic drop in teen car crashes. …show more content…
Shifting times would also synch to a teenager’s natural sleeping pattern because teenagers are natural night owls.
At a school that changed schedules and started at 7:20 AM, fewer than half the 10th graders averaged more than seven hours of sleep in a night. Even though there was a new schedule change, the average student went to sleep at 10:40 PM. The students go to sleep according to their natural sleep cycle, which is going to sleep later at night and waking up late into the day. 33% of teenagers admit to falling asleep in class. It is better for teenagers to get all the sleep they need at night instead of sleeping during
school.
One of the oppositions of starting school later is parents not being able to take their kids to school because of work schedules. This problem could be easily solved with a lot of different solutions. Students could carpool with other students to save money and gas. Students could take their local public transportation such as a bus or a train. Students could even ride bikes or skateboards to school which would not only be good exercise but also stop some pollution in the world.
Shifting time could save lives. Students are 20% more likely to get into a motor crash if they have gotten less than seven hours of sleep in a night which is the majority of teenagers. Shifting times is not only better for a student academically and physically but it will also keep them safer and healthier. Students who get more sleep are less likely to abuse substances like alcohol and harmful drugs.
If we don’t shift times at schools we could be hurting the students and endangering their lives. Students could be doing far better in school if they got the right amount of sleep in a night. Student’s health and grades mater and changing the time could drastically improve students performances. All schools should switch their school start times to past 8:45AM! Schools could help students do drastically better by doing this one simple thing.