“Lack of sleep, as well as quality and timing, for teens can cause mental health disorders, poor academic performance and health problems like obesity, cardiovascular issues and reduced immunity” (MPC).
Students need to get at least 8-10 hours of sleep. Schools that have an early school start time are correlated with worse attendance, more tardiness, more falling asleep in class, worse grades, and more car crashes. Students with longer sleep duration have a positive mood, and better developmental outcomes. The percentage of high school students who did not get enough sleep increased from 69% to 77% according to CDC National Youth Risk Behavior.
Students are not the only ones impacted by early school start times; teachers and parents also struggle. Many educators feel overstressed and under-rested. The APA points out that “Teachers are making decisions constantly as they manage their classrooms. You can imagine the teachers in a classroom for 8 hours getting more and more fatigued by doing simple tasks.”
Detractors point out that if schools push back start times, this could really change the after school programs, local business, and family schedules. “Daycare centers, practices and even restaurants plan their hours to fit around the school schedule” (American Psychological Association). Most families base their schedule around the school calendar. Parents also go to work based on the time their kids go to school.
However, if schools push back start times, local business and school programs could also push back their times and everything else can follow in line with the schools. Parents could push back their time going into work as well, and get off later because their kids won’t be home till later.
School start times are very hurtful for students who are exhausted from long nights and early mornings. They are very challenging and need to be fixed for a better outcome of our education. Pushing back school start times would be a great change in American high schools.
Schools Should Push Back Start Times
By Tenlee Ruble ‘27
“Lack of sleep, as well as quality and timing, for teens can cause mental health disorders, poor academic performance and health problems like obesity, cardiovascular issues and reduced immunity” (MPC).
Students need to get at least 8-10 hours of sleep. Schools that have an early school start time are correlated with worse attendance, more tardiness, more falling asleep in class, worse grades, and more car crashes. Students with longer sleep duration have a positive mood, and better developmental outcomes. The percentage of high school students who did not get enough sleep increased from 69% to 77% according to CDC National Youth Risk Behavior.
Students are not the only ones impacted by early school start times; teachers and parents also struggle. Many educators feel overstressed and under-rested. The APA points out that “Teachers are making decisions constantly as they manage their classrooms. You can imagine the teachers in a classroom for 8 hours getting more and more fatigued by doing simple tasks.”
Detractors point out that if schools push back start times, this could really change the after school programs, local business, and family schedules. “Daycare centers, practices and even restaurants plan their hours to fit around the school schedule” (American Psychological Association). Most families base their schedule around the school calendar. Parents also go to work based on the time their kids go to school.
However, if schools push back start times, local business and school programs could also push back their times and everything else can follow in line with the schools. Parents could push back their time going into work as well, and get off later because their kids won’t be home till later.
School start times are very hurtful for students who are exhausted from long nights and early mornings. They are very challenging and need to be fixed for a better outcome of our education. Pushing back school start times would be a great change in American high schools.
https://www.apa.org/topics/children/school-start-times
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4824552