Persuasive Essay: Should Children Should Start School Later?

It is a well known fact that teenagers in general need more sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation: “[teenage sleep] is as important as the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat. It can even help you to eat better and manage stress of being a teen.” When schools start as early as 7 o’clock, it puts students health at risk. Adolescents already have a natural shift in their internal body clock, or circadian rhythm when it comes to sleep. Puberty allows this to happen, causing a “sleep phase delay” of about two hours. When teens can't fall asleep until late and school starts so early, they aren't getting nearly enough sleep. Lack of such, according to CDC, makes the individual

Do you ever wake up and feel like you haven’t gotten enough sleep? The reason is because in reality you probably haven’t. Studies show that schools should not start any earlier that 8:30 in the morning due to teens suffering from sleep deprivation. There are many negative effects this condition can have on a teens body including a direct effect on one’s physical and mental health, public safety and excelling in the future. In the Ted Talk video, " Why school should start later for teens" by, Wendy Troxel.  Ms. Troxel explained why school should start later for teens.. Students are very drowsy in the morning and are usually rushing to get to school on time which limits breakfasts times and healthy food options. Schools should start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.  for several reasons  but sleep deprivation is  the most important. Sleep deprivation can cause a direct effect to a child’s general health and behavior, public safety and potentially future success.

If we were to start school later, academic GPA’s (grade point averages) would definately increase. Isn’t this what we want in our school? It is proven that the more sleep you get, the more awake and alert you actually are. I interviewed Michael Claffey, a sophomore at Newington High School, he stated “ Goooooud.” Also Jorge Premto a sophomore at Newington High School stated “Yes Michael, yes I do believe school should start at nine o’clock am. This will thus help further my education because I will be well rested.” In all, we need school to start later because it will help us with our education.

In the first place, students are not getting enough sleep. In the article “Should School Start later” by Lisa M. Herrington [20] “According to the National Sleep Foundation “59% of 6th-8th graders and 87% of high schoolers aren't getting the sleep they require”. This quote shows that students are not getting the sleep they need. And kids must wake up early how are they getting the sleep we need. “So why don’t kids just go to sleep earlier? It’s not that simple” Says Danny Lewin, a sleep specialist at Children's National Health system in Washington, D.C. “Adolescents have a deeply programmed biological clock to go to bed later and wake later” Says

Delaying the time that school starts could affect the amount of sleep that students receive. An average teen is supposed to obtain 8.5-9.25 hours of sleep each night. There is a national debate of whether or not to start school at a later time. Students, Parents, teachers, and even bus drivers all need their sleep. Why not start school earlier if teens are struggling to get to bed from after school

For example, students actually perform worse when sleep deprived, dropping grades, and drop the school’s standardized test scores. With later start times children get more sleep, and children that get more sleep are generally prone to have better grades and overall better test scores. With longer sleep times children wake up with more energy and a better outlook on that day’s activities. Children that have later sleep times are proven to want to go back to school every day, and have a better attitude about learning. Children should have later start times, later

In the article Our kids need more sleep by Valerie Erde. She see teenagers at the library studying until 11:00 p.m. she's glad to see them working that late then realize that they have to get up around 6:00 a.m. to get ready for school and have a couple minutes to spare. She is arguing to change school starting time so that they can have more sleep to perform better in class, stay awake, less depressions , and less accident between the ages of 16-18. Scientific studies show less than 9.25 hours for a teen shows a insufficient sleep results in proper reaction time,vigilance,learning and alertness (Erde) . so students perform less well in school than other school with a later starting hour.

Is sleep important? A question that many people wonder to themselves at night. Of course, the answer is yes. Sleep is one of the most important things in our lives, it keeps our brains healthy and working. It gives our brain cells time to relax and not over-work. However, some teens aren 't getting the 8.5 hours of sleep they need, and believe the school is responsible for it. In most districts, schools start times around 7:00 am in some cases. Parents and students believe that the school district should change this and make the start of the school day later, so that they can get the right amount of sleep they need to function. In the Scope article, “Should School Start Later?” by Justin O’Neill, “Teachers Oppose Later Start Times” by Julie Zauzmer and Dana Hedgpeth, and “Eight Major Obstacles to Delaying School Start Times” By The National Sleep Foundation, discuss the issue surrounding the idea of students not getting enough sleep at night and that we should make the start of school later. On the other hand, other people think that the school day should stay the same. Although some people argue to make school start later, I think the times should stay the same because school ending later will mess up students after school schedules, getting more bus drivers would be expensive, and changing the school times might send the wrong message.

In the article Our kids need more sleep by Valerie Erde, argues that schools should start later to accommodate student’s adequate sleep schedules. This article talks about all the tremendous benefits teens and children receive from getting more sleep. I strongly believe that schools should be starting a bit later to help students receive more sleep.

Sleep is very important for everyone. It is especially important for adolescents who are still developing. Brain development and recharging of the body are both things that take place while an adolescent sleeps. Without enough sleep, the body isn’t prepared for the next day. The body needs to get the recommended hours of sleep or it won’t perform to its best ability. In adolescents, this is an issue because scientists are finding teens are getting less and less hours of sleep due to hectic schedules causing their bodies to be worn out. Research is showing that by having schools start later, teens are getting the sleep they need to be awake and alert for the next day. Today, most schools start around 8:00 am or earlier at about 7:30 am. School

Wouldn’t you love if the school day started later? While that’s what I am here for. One reason I think we should start the school day later is scientist have proven that people who sleep later are actually smarter. I am sure that the teacher wants the kids ready to learn. Also there are kids that live far from the school and they have to wake up even earlier to get to school on time. Maybe they have to take their older brother or sister to school on the way. I think that if the school day started later then that will help my parents in the morning. It would help parents because usually there is always that one parent that has to argue with their kid in the morning. When you wake up arguing with your parents then your whole day is ruined. These are the pros of why we should start school later.

“Over 90 percent of American high school students are chronically sleep-deprived”, according to Carolyn Gregoire at Huffington Post. Students in their teens need 9 hours of sleep, and only 9% of students in this age range meet this requirement. Students who have later school start times report being less stressed and more focused. When schools start later, more sleep is allowed and students are less sleep deprived and can focus on the task at hand.

Adolescents who do not get enough sleep are more likely to be overweight, not engage in daily physical activity, suffer from depressive symptons, engage in unhealthy risk behaviors such as drinking, smoking tobacco, and using illicit drugs. (Schools Start Too Early) Therefore, if we can make the school start time later, then the students will have more time to sleep which is good for their health. Some people may argue that students can go to bed earlier so that they can still get enough sleep. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics states that adolescents have unique sleep rhythms that make it harder for them to go to sleep and wake up earlier than other people, so they issued a new policy statement recommending that middle and high schools start class no earlier than 8:30 a.m. (Strauss) Because of this unique sleep rhythm among teenagers, we need to delay school start time to give them time to get more sleep and a better health.

The national sleep epidemic that has taken the world by storm is also taking a toll in not only teen’s health but also their performance in school as well as personal safety. The sleep deprivation that teens are experiencing everyday has caused many health problems as well as academic problems. I believe starting school later will hinder this ever growing teen sleep deprivation problem we face today. Letting teens sleep later is beneficial to their learning capacity as their heightened alertness improved their classroom performance as well as better memory and many other crucial achievements. So probably starting school later, but no later than eight thirty am, will lead students to perform better in school and their health will improve drastically.

Imagine you can sleep in an extra hour from the long, slavish day we call the modern school system. Many people would not care for the offer and call it unnecessary but it has great benefits. Contrary to popular belief, school does have a good purpose, school is there to grant students an opportunity for a greater education in college and eventually get good paying jobs. If you could sleep in an extra hour you would no longer feel sleep deprived and would strive for greatness and have a greater goal in education. These are amazing benefits that can be achieved for the greater population of students by a simple change in time. Traditional public schools in the United States start at 8:00 in the morning, this time forces kids to get up hours before to get ready and out of the door. If the time for school started later, say 8:30 or 9:00, then it would allow students to catch some extra sleep, while also allowing them to get up to do their morning routines in preparation for school. School start times should be later because it is safer for the kids, better attendance, and grade increase will be prominent.