Should High School Start Later Essay

908 Words2 Pages

15% percent of high schools start from at least 8:30 or later and 40% of high schools start before 8:00 a.m. Therefore, school should be later because of adolescent mental strength advancing, adolescent health improving and the safety it a later start time provides for teens. School start times should be later because of adolescent mental strength abilities. In the meantime, studies have been shown recently that schools that start later earn better standardized test grade scores. “With early start times, some before 7:00 a.m., adolescents are not getting enough sleep,” says Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren. She explains how teens (adolescents) are not receiving the rest they need to stay healthy. With later school start times, kids can be more awake in their studies, and will pay more attention in school since they are more awake. There is this a rhythm within a person's body called the circadian rhythm which involves release of melatonin in the person's sleep cycle. This is why it is important to not …show more content…

Again, Dr. Owens says that teens receiving more rest with a later school start time are at a lower risk of being in a traffic accident. However, teens cannot replace the hours they didn't sleep that night, which means that they cannot change their sleep pattern. Sleeping at different times for several nights in a row can be harmful to teens’ health because it disrupts the body’s sleep cycle. Dr. Cora Breuner from www.npr.org states,“We want to promote safety with kids. We truly believe our teenagers are getting six to seven hours of sleep a night, and they need eight or ten.” Another reason why school should start later is that many parents are also leaning towards later start times, the same with doctors since the worry for teens’ sleeping hours is a big concern lately. School should be later because of teens’ safety, and people should be aware how important that

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