Have you ever fallen asleep in class? Why do you think that is? Is it that your math class is boring? Or is it that you’re not getting enough sleep? School needs to start later.

 

Doctors suggest that learning children and teens should get eight to ten hours of sleep a night. Studies show that only 15% of teens get enough sleep. 20% of high school students have reported only having six or less hours of sleep every night. But why is that?

 

Lots of high schools start at 7:30 in the morning. My high school brother has to wake up at 6:30 to catch the bus. Usually he misses the bus two days each week, sometimes even more. He doesn’t even have time to eat breakfast! I think that schools should start fifteen minutes to thirty minutes later. With sleep, that much time makes a big difference.

 

For example, you need sleep to do well in school. People could fall asleep in class, causing them to miss a lot or even fail a class. One study showed that your brain has to be well-rested to receive and retain information. Other studies show that a good night of sleep can improve learning. While sleeping, your brain goes over what happened the day before. This improves memory, which is key for learning. Research shows that it’s harder to focus and learn new concepts if you are sleep-deprived. It’s also easier to forget things if you’re tired.

It’s also easier for the adults in the situation for school to start later. If the kids miss the bus, or don’t even take the bus, the parents would have to drive them. If that was early in the morning, the parents would have to wake up early, too. The bus drivers and the teachers have to wake up even earlier than the kids.

 

If you don’t get enough sleep, you will feel too tired to exercise. Scientific studies by Karen Postal Ph.D show that exercise helps you think by helping new brain cells grow. After you exercise, lots of skills needed to learn are improved, such as problem solving skills, memory and attention. 

 

Teens would rely less on caffeine if they got enough sleep. According to Medical News Today, 83.2% of teens drink caffeine on a daily basis. Too much caffeine causes anxiety, illnesses, and slows down brain development.

 

Some people say that changing school times means changing schedules, but schools shouldn’t have to change their schedules. It is scientifically proven that changing schedules causes unnecessary stress. While that is true, changing schedules teaches people to problem solve when things happen that they weren’t expecting.

 

Some people think that there will be no time for after-school activities. But if enough schools ended later, the after-school activities could be moved fifteen minutes later. The problem with that is if they started fifteen minutes later, they would also end fifteen minutes later, which would mean the kids or teens would get home fifteen minutes later. The solution to that would just be to let them have fifteen minutes less of screen time than they normally would, which would also be better for them.

 

Many kids and teens agree that they aren’t getting enough sleep, that they don’t get enough food in the morning, or skip brushing their teeth because they would be late if they did. As a result of starting school later, students would be healthier, would have a better memory, get more exercise, and be better in class overall if they got enough sleep. Starting school later could make a huge impact.