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Jessica Nguyen
Ms. Koning
English 1 Honors
28 May 2014
Why should school start later in the day?
A healthy teenager is suppose to get a total of eight hours of sleep every night, which
sounds like a reasonable amount. However, some teenagers get about six hours at most. With all
the projects, homework, and essays given by teachers, most teens stay up (sometimes) until one
oclock. With school starting at seven-twenty am, it is hard for teenagers to get enough sleep to
fully function in the morning. Starting school later in the morning can help kids be more active
and function better by giving them more rest and time to get ready for the day.

A little bit of sleep in the morning could go a long way. According to a new University
of Minnesota study released this week, later high school start times improve both student grades
and overall health. The three-year research project, using data from more than 9,000 students
attending eight high schools in three states, found that when switching to a later start time:
school attendance, standardized test scores, and academic performance in Math, English, Science
and Social Studies improved. And tardiness, substance abuse, symptoms of depression, and
consumption of caffeinated drinks decreased. In addition, the study found that there was a
whopping 70 percent drop in the number of car crashes involving teen drivers at Jackson Hole
High School in Wyoming, which shifted to the latest start time of the eight schools (8:55 a.m.)
(Discover). This proves starting school later in the morning by just an hour can make a big
difference. Many people say teenagers and kids can do better in school if they werent so lazy
or unfocused. Well the reason why kids are unfocused and sluggish is from getting inadequate

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sleep. From the proof above, it shows that just getting an extra hour of sleep in the morning
completely changed (for the better) the teens grades and overall performance.

Not getting enough sleep every night can cause a variety of sleep disorders. However,
insomnia commonly has a wide variety of non-neurological causes, including stress, physical
pain, irregular hours, and psychological disorders. Temporary acute insomnia related to a major
event or crisis can turn chronic if a person becomes overly anxious about sleep itself and is
unable to return to his or her normal sleep pattern (Strickland 594). Having schools starting
class at seven in the morning, does not help out the sleeping-enough-hours situation at all. A
typical teenager wakes up around five-thirty in the morning to get ready, take a shower, get
dressed (etc.). Five-thirty in the morning, the sun is barely up at this time, teens are forced to
drag their lifeless body, get dressed and go to school for eight hours. Teenagers can develop a lot
of mental issues and sleeping disorders from lack of sleep. Depression is a big issue that can
come from not sleeping enough and school. Many teenagers suffer from it (depression), anxiety,
nightmares, insomnia and other serious mental illnesses just from not getting enough hours in
bed. Starting school a little later in the morning can really help kids catch up on sleepless nights.

School beginning so early in the morning does not allow teenagers to get the right
amount of sleep. Most teenagers need between nine and nine-and-a-half hours of sleep each
night. Yet surveys show that most teenagers get only six to seven hours. Twenty percent of high
schoolers say that they have fallen asleep in class (Ransohoff). Twenty percent of high
schoolers have fallen asleep in class, that means that twenty percent is not getting the important
information in their classes. That twenty percent of kids falling asleep in class is a problem
because there is way too many tests and exams nowadays to be missing information. All notes

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taken in class is important and if the students are sleeping, they are not getting the notes. It is
ridiculous that teens have to try to catch up on sleep during educational hours. This is one of the
things people need to really look at. High schoolers are up so late doing projects, homework, and
essays and are forced to wake up at the break of dawn and sit in a chair for eight hours. That is
absurd, teenagers should not have to wake up so early. Now, the eight hours are not a problem,
no, the problem is the fact the eight hours start so early.

Some people actually think school should not change its hours. So, there is no actual
debating for round one? School starts at 7:45 because it is the prime of your brain function. If
you are tired at 7:45, you need to see a doctor or get a better bedtime before 12. Public
Government schools won't just change for the few who see it as necessary to start school later. If
you want to wake up late and finish school around 6 in the afternoon, then ask your mom to
homeschool you (Ahcount). In this, Ahcount says or get a better bedtime before 12, although
this is true, teens can just alter their time and sleep before twelve. It does not seem possible. It is
not as easy done as said, many teenagers of higher class have essays every week and piles of
homework every night. To get all of it done by midnight is sometimes impossible. So many cant
just get a better bedtime, unless teachers want teenagers to finish half their assigned
homework.

Going to school should be a fun and kids should be excited to learn.. But, how does one
have fun having to wake up at five-thirty in the morning? Exactly, one does not, five-thirty in
the morning for school sounds incredibly boring. It is a good idea to start school later in the day
because it provides kids and teenagers with more resting time. It has been proven to increase
students academic progress and behavior outside of school by starting school a little later in the

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day. Also, it has helped decrease mental issues and drug abuse by teenagers. Starting school later
in day can make an incredible change in student lives.

Works Cited
Late Start times Benefit High School Students. Discover. University of Minnesota, 14 Mar.
2014.

Web. 12 May 2014.

Strickland, Bonnie B. The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology. Detroit, MI: Gale Group, 2001.
Print.
Ransohoff, Katie. "Sleep & Sleeping Disorders." Doctors, Patient Care, Health Education,
Medical Research. Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Oct. 2013. Web. 12 May 2014.
Counterargument
"High School Should Start Later than It Currently Does." Online Debate:. N.p., 2012. Web. 16
May 2014.