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Teen indeed more sleep look that why we need school more early

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Drowsiness in teens is pretty bad, especially when it comes to school! If we have a bunch of tired teens trying to study for tests, then we can already know what the outcome is. Poor performance in schools is not helpful for a teen at all, and I’m pretty sure the last thing they want is to fail high/middle school because they couldn’t get an extra hour of sleep!

-Sophie McLeod

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Teens May Do Better When School Starts Later

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Teens aren't wired to wake up so early, so middle and high schools should start later, sleep experts say.

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Why should school start later for teenagers who don’t get enough sleep
Elisey

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How Would Later School Start Times Affect Sleep? | Sleep Foundation

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Experts recommend middle and high schools begin no sooner than 8:30 a.m. Later school start times will increase adolescent sleep and improve their performance.

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Why schools should start later-Alessandra 

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Why schools should start later-Alessandra 

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If school starts earlier and a teen that drives doesn’t get enough sleep it can cause a car accident according to Amy Morin’s article it states,”Over 100,000 car accidents occur each year when drivers falling asleep at the wheel.”Alessandra (evidence: paragraph 3

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Washington schools need to start school later. Later school start time has connection with good grades. From the article “Later school starts linked to better teen grades” it states “students who could sleep in later also got better grades. On a scale of 0 to 100, their median scores increased from 77.5 to 82.0.”  A score of 77.5 is a C to a B which a B is better than a C grade. In conclusion school should start later

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academic Relating to school, classes or things taught by teachers in formal institutes of learning (such as a college).

adolescent Someone in that transitional stage of physical and psychological development that begins at the onset of puberty, typically between the ages of 11 and 13, and ends with adulthood.

average (in science) A term for the arithmetic mean, which is the sum of a group of numbers that is then divided by the size of the group.

biology The study of living things. The scientists who study them are known as biologists.

body clock (also known as biological clock ) A mechanism present in all life forms that controls when various functions such as metabolic signals, sleep cycles or photosynthesis should occur.

development (in biology) The growth of an organism from conception through adulthood, often undergoing changes in chemistry, size and sometimes even shape.

gauge A device to measure the size or volume of something. For instance, tide gauges track the ever-changing height of coastal water levels throughout the day. Or any system or event that can be used to estimate the size or magnitude of something else. (v. to gauge) The act of measuring or estimating the size of something.

graduate student Someone working toward an advanced degree by taking classes and performing research. This work is done after the student has already graduated from college (usually with a four-year degree).

high school A designation for grades nine through 12 in the U.S. system of compulsory public education. High-school graduates may apply to colleges for further, advanced education.

hormone (in zoology and medicine) A chemical produced in a gland and then carried in the bloodstream to another part of the body. Hormones control many important body activities, such as growth. Hormones act by triggering or regulating chemical reactions in the body.

link A connection between two people or things.

median (in mathematics) The value or quantity that lies at the midpoint of a group of numbers that had been listed in order from lowest to highest.

melatonin A hormone secreted in the evening by a structure in the brain. Melatonin tells the body that it is nearing time to sleep. It plays a key role in regulating circadian rhythms.

monitor To test, sample or watch something, especially on a regular or ongoing basis.

peer (noun) Someone who is an equal, based on age, education, status, training or some other features. (verb) To look into something, searching for details.

physical (adj.) A term for things that exist in the real world, as opposed to in memories or the imagination.

psychologist A scientist or mental-health professional who studies the human mind, especially in relation to actions and behaviors.

puberty A developmental period in humans and other primates when the body undergoes hormonal changes that will result in the maturation of reproductive organs.

secrete (noun: secretion) The natural release of some liquid substance - such as hormones, an oil or saliva - often by an organ of the body.

waste Any materials that are left over from biological or other systems that have no value, so they can be disposed of as trash or recycled for some new use.

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Later school starts linked to better teen grades

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academic Relating to school, classes or things taught by teachers in formal institutes of learning (such as a college). adolescent Someone in that transitional stage of physical and psychological development that begins at the onset of puberty, typically between the ages of 11 and 13, and ends with adulthood.

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When it comes to early morning drowsiness, it tends to cause a ton of car accidents for teens. This is absolutely horrible, all because schools start too early! If we were to start it later in the day teens can be 10x more alert and drive a whole lot safer than before!

-Sophie McLeod

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Good Reasons Why School Should Start Later

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Are there good reasons for starting school later? Yes. There are many benefits of starting school later; especially for middle school and high school students.

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Good Reasons Why School Should Start Later

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Are there good reasons for starting school later? Yes. There are many benefits of starting school later; especially for middle school and high school students.

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Kids might take advantage of later school times

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Kids might take advantage of later school times

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Kids might stay up so late that even waking up at a later time I’m they wouldn’t want to get up it says in this article in the cons area that later school times might let kids think that they can stay up later /Ashlye/

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If you've ever had trouble getting your teen up in the morning or you've seen teens fall asleep during the school day, you're not alone. Many adolescents struggle to wake up early for school. It's sparked a discussion about the pros and cons of starting school at a later time.

While some people may think that teens are just lazy for not getting up early, doctors say that's not actually the case. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has urged school districts to consider later start times so that adolescents can get adequate sleep. Still, many districts have said that changing the time school starts just isn't feasible.

What Physicians Say

The AAP's Adolescent Sleep Working Group reviewed studies involving inadequate sleep in teens. Researchers analyzed the harmful effects sleep deprivation-anything less than 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep on school nights-can have on young people.

They concluded that poor sleep is linked to increased reliance on caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol. They also discovered a link between sleep deprivation and poor academic performance. Sleep deprivation has also been linked to an increased risk of car accidents in teens.

It may seem as though the solution would be for teens to simply go to sleep earlier. But researchers say that it isn't likely to work. Teens experience hormonal shifts that make falling asleep earlier difficult, if not impossible. Their biological clocks simply won't allow them to fall asleep before 11 p.m., even when they're tired.

Studies show that simply delaying school by 30 minutes can have a dramatic impact on teens' health and performance. So most researchers recommend school start times be delayed until at least 8:30 a.m. for teenagers. Benefits of delayed school start times include:

More sleep: Teens may be more likely to get the recommended amount of sleep.

Better sleep: Delayed start time could help teens sleep during their natural sleep/wake cycles.

Less caffeine: Teens may be less likely to depend on caffeine to stay awake during the day.

Better grades: Adequate sleep could help teens be more alert during the school day, which could boost their academic performance.

Better health: Sleeping longer could reduce health-related issues that accompany sleep deprivation.

Better choices: Getting home later in the afternoon (if school is shifted forward) may reduce the amount of time some teens are home alone, and could decrease the likelihood they will engage in unhealthy activities.

What School Districts Say

Despite the recommendation from the AAP, the majority of school districts aren't planning to change their start times. School officials often cite logistical concerns about starting the school day later.

Delaying high school start times could pose problems with bus schedules, after-school activities, and sporting events for the entire district. Changing the high school start time could have a domino effect on all the schools that could pose a logistical nightmare.﻿﻿

Critics also note that a later dismissal time for teens would pose problems for those who must provide childcare to younger siblings. Students who participate in sports and extra-curricular activities would get home later in the evenings. And teens might stay up even later if they don't have to wake for school at an earlier time.

What Parents Can Do

No matter what time your teen's school starts, it's important to support your teen by making sure they're getting enough high-quality sleep. Teach your teen about appropriate sleep hygiene and talk about the benefits of sleep.

While you can't force your teen to fall asleep at a certain time, you can establish a "lights out rule." Take away electronics at least 60 minutes before bedtime and encourage your teen to read quietly in their room to help them get ready for bed.

Most teens like to sleep late on the weekends or during school vacations. However, sleeping in can throw off your teen's natural sleep/wake cycle. Keep your teen on a consistent schedule even on weekends and school vacations.

If you feel strongly that your child's health and academic life are being disrupted by a lack of sleep, be an advocate for your child. Share your concerns with school officials. Attend school board meetings and discuss this issue with other parents. You may be able to gain enough support to create change.

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Should High Schools Start Later so Teens Can Get More Sleep?

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The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends delaying school start times, but most school districts are not planning to start school later.

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Ariel. Reason why we should have school early

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Later School Start Times Essay - 1415 Words | Bartleby

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Free Essay: Later School Start Times Everyone has always hated getting up super early to go to school. As children get older they move to different schools,...

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Kids need sleep to stay healthy             (Weston)

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Learn how later school start times may help adolescents get enough sleep.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Learn how later school start times may help adolescents get enough sleep.

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Kids are so tired and it is hard for them to start to do a test when they are so tired and it can cause other things out side of school like death because of car crashes. Kid will stake meds to try to stay awake which is not good .

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Anne Wheaton says that “sleep is important for kids health, safety, and academic performance” if kids don’t get enough sleep, they could be to tired to work, so they may turn to 🤬 to stay awake and alert witch is also unhealthy for students. (Richard)

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For the first time, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging education policymakers to start middle- and high-school classes later in the morning. The idea is to improve the odds of adolescents getting sufficient sleep so they can thrive both physically and academically.

The CDC's recommendations come a year after the American Academy of Pediatrics urged schools to adjust start times so more kids would get the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of nightly rest. Both the CDC and the pediatricians' group cited significant risks that come with lack of sleep, including higher rates of obesity and depression and motor-vehicle accidents among teens as well as an overall lower quality of life.

"Getting enough sleep is important for students' health, safety, and academic performance," Anne Wheaton, the lead author and epidemiologist in the CDC's Division of Population Health, said in a statement. "Early school start times, however, are preventing many adolescents from getting the sleep they need."
"Everybody learns better when they're awake."
In more than 40 states, at least 75 percent of public schools start earlier than 8:30 a.m., according to the CDC's report. And while later start times won't replace other important interventions-like parents making sure their children get enough rest-schools clearly play an important role in students' daily schedules, the report concluded.

While the federal recommendation is making headlines, the data on the potential risks of chronically tired adolescents isn't new information. Indeed, the research has been accumulating steadily for years, including some recent large-scale studies.

As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported in April, the University of Minnesota's Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement "finally put to rest the long-standing question of whether later start times correlate to increased academic performance for high-school students":

Researchers analyzed data from more than 9,000 students at eight high schools in Minnesota, Colorado, and Wyoming and found that shifting the school day later in the morning resulted in a boost in attendance, test scores, and grades in math, English, science, and social studies. Schools also saw a decrease in tardiness, substance abuse, and symptoms of depression. Some even had a dramatic drop in teen car crashes.

Here's what the research shows: Adolescents' "internal clocks"-the circadian rhythms that control a human's responses to stimuli and determine sleep patterns-operate differently than those of other age groups. It's typically more difficult for adolescents to fall asleep earlier in the evening than it is for other age demographics. And while teenagers are going to bed later, their school start times are often becoming earlier as they advance through middle and high school.

In a landmark study in 1998 of adolescent sleeping habits, the Brown University researcher Mary Carskadon followed 10th-graders who were making the switch to a 7:20 a.m. start time, about an hour earlier than their schedule as ninth-graders. Despite the new schedule, the students went to bed at about the same time as they did the year before: 10:40 p.m. on average.
The students bordered on "pathologically sleepy."
Carskadon's team found that students showed up for morning classes seriously sleep-deprived and that the 7:20 a.m. start time required them to be awake during hours that ran contrary to their internal clocks. Fewer than half of the 10th-graders averaged even seven hours of sleep each night, which is already below the recommended amount. Indeed, Carskadon's team concluded the students bordered on "pathologically sleepy."

So, if the science is so strong, what's getting in the way of changing the policy?

Carskadon, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior, notes that passionate arguments abound on both sides of the debate-just about all of which she's heard over the years. In some districts, the start times are largely dictated by local transportation companies, with school boards and superintendents contending they lack the funds or authority to change things. Meanwhile, parents are often reluctant to have teens start later, whether because they rely on having older children at home in the afternoons to take care of younger siblings or because they're concerned that it will interfere with extracurricular opportunities. Indeed, there's always a vocal chorus warning that later start times will hurt high-school sports.

But none of those worries override the reality that, as Carskadon put it, "everybody learns better when they're awake."

Implementing later start times can be feasible without causing major disruptions, as many school districts have demonstrated, Carskadon said. But it requires that all stakeholders commit to what's often a time-consuming process of finding creative solutions, which, she added, isn't always easy.

The medical writer and mother of three Terra Ziporyn Snider, who's emerged as a national advocate for later start times, also cited widespread challenges hindering schools from making the switch. Getting school systems to change takes more than just presenting scientific evidence, said Snider, the co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Start School Later. The organization deploys volunteers to communities that are considering later school start times to bolster grassroots efforts.

"Social norms are at the root of this problem-most people don't take [adolescent sleep deprivation] seriously and don't see it as a public-health issue," Snider said. "That kind of thinking has to change."
"The real obstacles are failure of imagination."
One of the problems facing advocates of later school start times is that the people sympathetic to their cause seldom have the authority to reset the academic clock, Snider said. Parents typically only care about the issue when it affects their own families' schedules, she said. That means roughly every four years the key players are replaced, and the grassroots efforts have to start from scratch.

"You start talking about changing start times, and people immediately jump to [all kinds of conclusions]. Teens will miss out on sports. L ittle kids will go to school in the dark and get run over by a car. What will happen to my child care? " Snider said. "A lot of these fears and speculations turn out to be red herrings. The real obstacles are failure of imagination."

Snider is hopeful that the policy pressures are reaching a tipping point, though, with the help of major voices like the CDC weighing in.

"It's becoming increasingly embarrassing to say, 'If we start school later, what happens to my kid's three-hour soccer practice?'" Snider said. "We have to convince school systems this has to happen for the health of kids. It's not a negotiable school budget item-it's an absolute requirement."
This post appears courtesy of the Education Writers Association.

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For the first time, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging education policymakers to start middle- and high-school classes later in the morning. The idea is to improve the odds of adolescents getting sufficient sleep so they can thrive both physically and academically.

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Elisey
Teen need more sleep

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Are you one of those who invariably fall asleep either in the history or the maths period? Your parents must be thinking that you have no interest in those subjects whatsoever. Little do they realize the psychological reason behind it.

You aren't the only victim of this queer phenomenon and it is not due to your lack of interest in any of the mentioned subjects but a totally different reason; the reason being, "lack of sleep". One may argue about their parents getting less sleep than us, yet remaining completely focused on their work. Want to know why do teens more sleep? Read on to find out.

In order to get into a more detailed insight of why teens need more sleep, let us first see why people actually feel sleepy/need sleep.

The need for sleep can be can be classified into two factors.

The first factor is the "Sleep-wake balance". It may be termed as the ratio of the amount of time you're asleep to the amount of time you've been awake since your last sleep. It is extremely important to keep the balance right, because once it goes off, you might just feel the side effects of it, like less concentration, and rapid energy loss from anything you do, which might be a regular everyday task. When you lose too much energy this way, you tend to fall asleep faster.

The second and the important factor is the "Circadian Rhythms". There is an internal body clock which automatically adjusts itself, observing the span of time when you sleep and the rest of the time when you stay awake.

For example, if you have been going to sleep at 10pm everyday and waking up at 6am, your body will set its timer for sleep automatically within that span, and you will start to feel sleepy right after 10. Anything which will damage this stipulated span of sleep, might be the reason for your sleepiness at any point of the day.

So, why do teens need more sleep?

The Circadian Rhythms get disturbed once in your lifetime, thanks to puberty. Puberty changes everything in a person, which includes everything related to the timing and the need for sleep. Usually, teens need about 8-10 hours of sleep every day. Even if you get an adequate amount of sleep at night, you still might feel dizzy at any point of the day. Here's why.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): This is a phenomenon that occurs when the tissue at the back of your throat collapses while you're asleep. Teens, who are overweight, have high chances of OSA. When you're in deep sleep, the muscles of your throat relaxes. Thanks to gravity, your tongue faces no restriction in falling back, cutting the air supply reaching your lungs. As a result, you start feeling breathless and it might wake you up. And when you wake up from sleep, it damages your entire sleep for the night and you start to feel sleepy again, when you wake up.

Narcolepsy: There is no logic as to why this happens, but Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder affecting teens, particularly between ages 15-20. They might feel the severe need for sleep at any point of time in the day, be it while eating, driving or anything that requires your body to be static for a brief period of time.

Emotional problems: When teens reach puberty, they become capable of reproducing sexually. With all these maturity, the hormones responsible for all emotions, develop. These emotions are hugely responsible for all the mood swings, which can disrupt sleep. Many cases have also been reported of depression, one of the most dangerous symptoms of emotional distress. These deal massive blows to the sleep pattern, and also make teens lose sleep completely.

Chronic ailments/Medical Conditions: Conditions such as "Epilepsy" and "Asthma" can cause disrupted sleep mainly because of its way of attacking the immunity system. Medications can also prevent teens from getting adequate amount of sleep.

Here's how you can tackle the situation and get better sleep.

Parents should make sure that the atmosphere is calm at home when it is bedtime for your children.

Teens often have extremely busy and hectic schedule before they retire to their beds. It is important for the teens to ease out and relax before they go to bed.

Caffeine is one thing that deprives everyone of sleep. You should never have it after 4pm, to get adequate sleep at night.

Teens should follow a strict diet regimen and exercise is a must. Smoking and drinking should be completely prohibited.

Lights should be dim in the evening and bright in the morning. This regulates the Circadian Rhythms in the body properly.

If you can follow all the mentioned remedies correctly, sleep deficiency will not haunt you anymore and you can listen to your history or math lectures without any hindrance.

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Spread the loveAre you one of those who invariably fall asleep either in the history or the maths period? Your parents must be thinking that you have no interest in those subjects whatsoever. Little do they realize the psychological reason behind it.

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Kids

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Why Do I Need Sleep?

Sleep is more important than you may think. The average kid has a busy day. There's school, taking care of your pets, running around with friends, going to sports practice or other activities, and doing your homework. By the end of the day, your body needs a break. Sleep lets your body get rest for the next day.

Everything that's alive needs sleep to survive. Even your dog or cat curls up for naps. Animals sleep for the same reason you do - to give your body a tiny vacation.

Your Brain Needs Zzzzzs

Your body and your brain need sleep. During sleep, the brain sorts through and stores information, replaces chemicals, and even solves problems while you snooze.

Most kids don't get enough sleep. Kids 5 to 12 years old need 9 to 12 hours each night. Not every kid is the same and some kids need more sleep than others.

Can you think of a time when you didn't get enough sleep? That heavy, groggy feeling is awful and, when you feel that way, you're not at your best. Without enough sleep, kids can feel moody, tired, or cranky. It might be hard to pay attention or follow directions. School work that's normally easy may feel impossible, or you may feel clumsy playing your favorite sport or instrument.

One more reason to get enough sleep: If you don't, you may not grow as well. That's right, too little sleep can affect growth and your germ-fighting immune system, which keeps you from getting sick.

How Can I Sleep Better?

For most kids, sleeping comes pretty naturally. Here are some tips to help you catch all the ZZZs you need:

Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This helps your body get into a routine.

Turn off the TV, computer, and other devices, including cellphones, at least 1 hour before it's time to sleep.

Follow a bedtime routine that is calming, such as taking a warm bath or reading.

Don't have drinks with caffeine in them, especially in the late afternoon and evening. Coffee, tea, energy drinks, and some sodas have caffeine.

Don't watch scary TV shows or movies close to bedtime because these can sometimes make it hard to fall asleep.

Don't exercise just before going to bed. Do exercise earlier in the day - it helps a person sleep better.

Use your bed just for sleeping - not doing homework, reading, playing games, or talking on the phone. That way, you'll train your body to connect your bed with sleep.

If you have a hard time falling asleep for more than one or two nights or have worries that are keeping you from sleeping, tell your mom or dad. They can help you solve your sleep problems. In fact, just talking about it with them could help you relax just enough (yawn) that you'll be ready to sleep.

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What Sleep Is and Why All Kids Need It (for Kids)

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When you get a good night's sleep, it's like giving your body a tiny vacation. Find out the scoop on sleep in this article for kids.

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In my opinion both students and teachers would benefit from later school times. For example teachers wouldn’t have to wake up so early just to get to school and prepare everything for the lesson, but if school times where later then teachers who live farther away would get to wake up later. Same goes for students, the students who get more sleep would be able to perform better academically, as well as have more time to get ready in the morning. -Dasha

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Kids will benefit from later school start times

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Kids will benefit from later school start times

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According to startschoollster.net, students can benefit from later school start times. When starting school later, there will be less drop outs, less students being truant, and students will have a higher memory of what they learned. (Richard)

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Many middle and high schools start too early in the morning to allow teens to get enough sleep - and that's taking a huge toll on health, safety, and learning.

Many middle and high schools start as early as 7 a.m. and dismiss students around 2 p.m., sometimes even earlier. Many districts adopted these very early hours in the latter part of the 20th century because they believed re-using the same buses by staggering start times of elementary, middle, and high schools would be cost-efficient. ​

After school sports, fast food, retail employers, and other extracurricular pursuits quickly adjusted to this earlier starting (and ending) school day. Before students of all ages, like most working adults, started school closer to 9 a.m.

now shows that starting middle and high school before the sun rises is out of sync with the biological clocks of young people (people ages 12-25, which includes young teachers). Even more disturbingly, starting school at these hours has now been linked not only to widespread sleep deprivation but also to a host of physical, psychological, and educational problems. Compelling evidence

Meanwhile, no research has shown any benefit to requiring any child, of any age, to start instruction before 8 a.m. (teens would actually be better off after 8:30).

​Given what we now know, it is negligent not to work to return to a later school opening hours. Yes, changing school hours is challenging. P olitics, money and misunderstanding often override the best interests of students, teachers and communities. C ollective action on a national scale may turn out to be the only way to ensure that all public schools can set hours compatible with health, safety, equity, and learning.

CLICK HERE for a quick synopsis of WHY WE MUST - AND CAN -RESTORE SAFE & HEALTHY SCHOOL HOURS

Extremely early school bells make it nearly impossible for many teens to get healthy sleep - and not because they're lazy.

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Many middle and high schools start as early as 7 a.m. and dismiss students around 2 p.m., sometimes even earlier. Many districts adopted these very early hours in the latter part of the 20th century because they believed re-using the same buses by staggering start times of elementary, middle, and high schools would be cost-efficient.

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Schools should make their classes start laters. Schools should start later because many kids suffer from dieing in car crashes because of sleep deprivation. With early school start times. From the article “Later start time for teens improves grades, mood, and safety” it states “Car accidents are the greatest cause of accident death in teens; more than 2,700 teens are killed in car crashes each year.” This is a big factor in starting school laters cause all 2,700 teams that died all died because of car crashes.
In conclusion school should start later.

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Later start times for less mental health problems By:Q-Vy Vu
Getting less sleep can cause increase in mental health. Sleep deprivation makes teens at higher risk at major depression. Lack of sleep can also lead to difficulties of managing anger and higher rates of anxiety. Evidence from “serious dangers sleep-deprived teens face” number 6.

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Kids have more time after school to do work /Ashlye/

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Kids have more time after school to do work /Ashlye/

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Kids have more time to do work after school they might have homework or something to do like it says in here you would have to make up time after school and dinner, homework sports would be pushed back

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The question of whether or not high schools should start later in the morning has been a topic of discussion for quite some time now. In response to many students citing their lack of sleep and low energy for school on a daily basis, I wished to give my own feedback to the matter at hand.

Both starting and ending school later in the day are great options for improving a regular school day´s schedule. Most notably, students would be able to sleep in longer on a school morning and be more alert and attentive throughout the day. Likewise, teachers would most likely see a higher number of students wanting to participate in class discussions, projects, and activities. In addition, students would be able to receive a proper breakfast for their busy days with additional time in the morning.

Implementing a later start time at Orcutt Academy and other high schools alike would solve a lot of problems for students.

On the other hand, some students may not be too keen on the idea that school would have to end later in the day to make up for a later start-time. Sports, dinner, work, and time to do homework are just some of the things that would have to be pushed back later in the afternoon as a result of a shifted schedule.

In my personal opinion, a later start-time would be popular among the majority of students, yet an start time could be more beneficial in the long run. Orcutt Academy should start early because students would have a large amount of the afternoon to participate in any of their extracurricular activities.

For those who claim they are too tired to wake up in the morning that early, it would be wise to merely go to bed earlier. It's a lazy mentality and people regardlessly have the tendency to procrastinate. Starting school later would only feed into this procrastination.

To conclude, Orcutt Academy and schools should maintain and early start time and perhaps consider an earlier start time to maximize studentś time to do whatever they need/want to do after school hours. A good suggestion would be to push the start time to 7:30 in the morning and ending school at 2:00 in the afternoon.

Hopefully, we can see some changes with students and their energy levels in high school with an earlier start and release time.

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The question of whether or not high schools should start later in the morning has been a topic of discussion for quite some time now. In response to many students citing their lack of sleep and low energy for school on a daily basis, I wished to give my own feedback to the matter at...

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Evidence proving school time should start later

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Evidence proving school time should start later

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How Would Later School Start Times Affect Sleep? | Sleep Foundation

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Experts recommend middle and high schools begin no sooner than 8:30 a.m. Later school start times will increase adolescent sleep and improve their performance.

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school needs to start later because kids are abusing caffeine to stay awake and it’s unhealthy.

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When I was in high school, it took a lot to get me out of bed and into class on time. Countless days, I'd sleep through my alarm, prompting my mom to scream at me from down the hall or my dad to yank the covers off me in a last-ditch attempt to get me to school before the bell. But what my parents seemed to think was laziness was at odds with my overall personality - I got good grades, was part of countless clubs, and played sports. If you didn't know about the daily drama that was getting out of bed, you might guess that I woke up early each morning excited to get to school. I know I'm not the only one who chronically hit snooze in my teen years, or the only one who was called lazy because of it. But, fellow sleepers, it turns out teen exhaustion isn't our fault. According to science, our schools might be to blame.

Researchers have long recommended that high schools push back start times to be later in the morning, departing from the average 8 a.m. call time for class. While the benefits of making school start later could be many for teens - including better performance in school, fewer reports of depression, and more - Adam Conover of truTV's Adam Ruins Everything noted in a recent episode that the impact could also literally save lives. He knows this because in a recent episode of the show, he ruined sleep.

"Basically, what researchers found is our circadian rhythms ... change as we age. Teens need a little more sleep than adults, nine hours or so, and they also are hardwired to go to sleep later and to wake up later in the morning," Adam told Teen Vogue. Because teens are biologically driven to go to sleep and wake up later, Adam said most teens are sleep deprived likely because they have to wake up early for school. This, he said, can have deadly consequences. "The result [of sleep deprivation] is really bad for the teens because it lowers their performance in school, but also drowsy driving is a serious problem."

According to the National Sleep Foundation, Adam is spot on. Teenagers need about eight to 10 hours of sleep each night, but few get it. One study found that only 15% of teens reported getting 8 1/2 hours of rest on a school night. Not getting enough sleep can lead to unhealthy eating, depression, other health problems, and can result in drowsy driving, which is what Adam was talking about. The Sleep Foundation notes that drowsy driving causes more than 100,000 crashes every year, and can be just as bad as driving drunk.

The Sleep Foundation has a number of recommendations to help young people avoid sleep deprivation, including starting school later. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also cited early school start times as a reason teens don't get enough sleep, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended in 2014 that schools across the country push back start times until 8:30 a.m. at the earliest.

So, if making school start later could potentially lead to better test scores, healthier teens, and fewer drowsy driving accidents, why hasn't it been done? Well, there may be a few reasons. The stereotype that teens are lazy could be one of them.

"The weird thing is that parents tend to treat it as kids are just lazy," Adam said. "My mom used to spray me with a water bottle. Even today, my mom, when I go visit her, when I wake up at 8 a.m. now she's like, 'Ooooh.' It's a natural change of life. Despite that, we organize our society in a way that ignores that truth about that. It's hurting the children our society wants to protect."

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Your School Letting You Sleep Later Could Literally Save Your Life.

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When I was in high school, it took a lot to get me out of bed and into class on time. Countless days, I'd sleep through my alarm, prompting my mom to scream at me from down the hall or my dad to yank the covers off me in a last-ditch attempt to get me to school before the bell.

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Because of sleep deprivation, most kids are NOT satisfied with their lives. They often feel like they’re living in hot, steamy garbage, and have a lot of mood swings, all because there’s a lot of schools out there who can’t get their 🤬 together and realize that these kids their help to fix their awful schedule, so they can get the sleep they deserve.

-Sophie McLeod
(Source is also 7 Serious dangers sleep-deprived teens face)

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I think that schools should start late because students  need sleep💤 And no teacher want there student sleeping in  class.       -joana

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Teens May Do Better When School Starts Later

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Teens aren't wired to wake up so early, so middle and high schools should start later, sleep experts say.

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Students have also reported using 🤬 such as caffeine and amphetamines to start their day. Obviously this is far from healthy. This type of stuff can really frick up your heart rate, it can make it go “wOoOoOOOooooooo” and cause a high rise of anxiety. From personal experience the anxiety part is especially true with caffeine.

-Sophie McLeod
(Source is 7 Serious dangers sleep-deprived teens face)

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If school starts to early we can’t learn as well and if we were to make school start later than we can learn better

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How Would Later School Start Times Affect Sleep? | Sleep Foundation

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Experts recommend middle and high schools begin no sooner than 8:30 a.m. Later school start times will increase adolescent sleep and improve their performance.

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When you start early in the morning it effects your Heath but that’s why after school we have more time in the afternoon to sleep and do work or stuff (Owsley)

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"We want all of our kids to be healthy and safe and get a good night sleep," said District 51's spokeperson Emily Shockley.

A good night's sleep can be hard for teens to get, especially for those involved in after school activities.

"If I got to start a bit later, it would be a whole lot easier for me to go through the school day," said 10th grader Trey Langley.

A study by the CDC shows that students whose school day started before 8:30 a.m. experienced weight gain and depression. They also reduced their amount of physical activity and perhaps most alarming: the study found those kids were more likely to use drugs.

"It was a discussion that happened midway between the 2014-2015 school year, where the board really started getting serious about changing start times. What we are looking at right now is half hour 40 mins later so that really not a big deal," said Shockley.

A later start time has been tossed around at school board meetings for some time, but there is a ripple effect if that bell rings later.

"There also there are sports after school activities that you'll have to consider how late those will now go, and also there is the financial impact," Shockley said.

Financial impact, translation: money. In District 51, the busses that take middle and high schoolers to school are also used to drop off elementary students. If all schools started later, we'd need more busses.

Plus -the after school activities.

"I've heard a lot of benefits about of a later school day. My concern with it is that that my kids are very active with extra-curricular's, and I just feel like if we push the school day back so they are getting out even later, it's going to push everything back," said Britni Mock a mother of five, two of those in middle school.

A late night for student athletes might not be the healthiest but some agree, the pros outweigh the cons.

"I would personally like it to be pushed back a little bit because I know with the growing, and the way the doctors tell and everything else, that its more healthier for them, sleep wise and growth wise, but either way it doesn't really affect us. What works for my family might not work your family," said Tracie Patrick, a mother of a middle schooler.

Justin Little Grand Junction High School's baseball coach said a later start isn't ideal, but he's interested in what's best for his student athletes.

"I tell my players education comes firs no matter what, if that going to make them work harder and get into a better college and be more successful in life then, I'm all for it," Little said.

Check out the list on the right side of your screen for the official start time of every school, as listed on the district's Facebook page.

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after school activities affected by school start times

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After school activities affected by school start times

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"We want all of our kids to be healthy and safe and get a good night sleep," said District 51's spokeperson Emily Shockley. A good night's sleep can be hard for teens to get, especially for those involved in after school activities.

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Another reason kids should getting more sleep

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Another reason kids should getting more sleep

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It’s not even mental health, sleep deprivation can damage physical health too! Lack of sleep can cause obesity, and it can damage growth.

-Sophie McLeod

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Sleep loss can take a devastating toll on the mind and body at any stage of life, from early childhood to older adulthood. But for teenagers, who are at a critical stage of development, skipping out on sleep can be particularly dangerous.

″[Sleep deprivation] is extremely detrimental at all stages of life," Dr. Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist, told The Huffington Post in an email. "In the teen years, when development continues ... the sleep deprivation effects of brain and body development are significant."

Though sleep is arguably most critical during the teen years, teenagers are the least likely of any age group to be getting sufficient rest. About 87 percent of American high school students are chronically sleep-deprived, according to a 2006 survey from the National Sleep Foundation.

While the National Institutes of Health estimates that teenagers need at least nine hours of sleep per night, only 9 percent of high school students are actually meeting these recommendations. Even more alarming is the fact that a whopping 20 percent are getting by on less than five hours per night.

A number of biological and lifestyle factors converge to wreak havoc on a teenager's sleep schedule. Late bedtimes, increasing technology dependence and high stress levels ― plus early school start times ― are a recipe for chronic sleep deprivation and the health risks that come along with it.

"Teens are biologically predisposed to stay up later at night and sleep later in the morning," Breus wrote in a recent Huffington Post blog. "This shift in teens' sleep-wake cycle, which is a normal part of development, can make a 9 or 10 p.m. bedtime difficult."

Over time, that late-to-bed, early-to-rise sleep schedule can lead to a number of health risks. Here are some of the physical and mental health risks associated with sleep loss during the adolescent years that both parents and teens should be aware of.

A study of nearly 28,000 suburban high school students, published earlier this year in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, found that each hour of lost sleep is associated with a 38 percent increased risk of feeling sad or hopeless and a 58 percent increase in suicide attempts. Teens who sleep an average of six hours per night are also three times more likely to suffer from depression, a 2010 study found.

"Sleep deprivation and depression go hand in hand among teenagers," the study's lead author Mahmood Siddique, a sleep medicine specialist at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, told CNN in 2010. "Instead of giving them medications, I'd rather give them a chance to sleep better, and more."

A parent's intervention could make a difference. Research has shown that young people whose parents set early bedtimes for them are significantly less likely to suffer from depression or to have suicidal thoughts.

2. Issues with learning and behavior

Roughly one in four teens goes to bed after 11:30 p.m. on weeknights, and those who do tend to perform worse at school and experience greater emotional distress. Younger teens who don't get enough sleep are also more likely to be inattentive, impulsive, hyperactive and oppositional.

It should come as no surprise that teens who aren't getting enough sleep won't be at their best academically or behavior-wise.

"We know that sleep deprivation makes teens more emotional and perform worse on cognitive tasks and testing," Breus said.

Why? Sleep supports brain processes that are critical to learning, memory and emotion regulation. At night, the brain reviews and consolidates information that's acquired during the day, making that information easier to later retrieve.

3. Substance use and abuse

The relationship between sleep loss and substance abuse in teens is a two-way street, with sleep deprivation increasing the risk of drug use and dependence, and drug use in turn fueling sleep troubles.

One study found that for every 10 minutes later that a teenager went to bed, there was a 6 percent increase in the chance they'd used alcohol or marijuana in the past month, while other research showed that sleep difficulties predicted substance-related issues like binge-drinking, drinking and driving, and risky sexual behavior.

4. Higher risk of obesity

Losing sleep can also have a long-term negative effect on a young person's physical health, with poor sleep quality being linked to diabetes and obesity risk for teens.

High school students who skimp on sleep may be at a higher risk of diabetes and obesity in adulthood, and among teens who are already obese, not getting enough sleep can increase the risk of later developing diabetes.

Among teens already suffering from diabetes, losing sleep can exacerbate their health issues. Research has shown that teens with Type 1 diabetes may have more trouble getting to sleep, and that sleeplessness, in turn, causes greater difficulties regulating blood sugar and controlling behavior.

5. Dependence on sleep and anxiety medications

While prescription sleep aids aren't approved for use among people under the age of 18, many teens are being prescribed medication like Ambien and Lunesta ― the long-term effects of which are still largely unknown.

But one short-term effect to be aware of is the risk of prescription pill abuse. A study last year found that teens who are prescribed sleeping pills or anxiety medication, which can be highly habit-forming, are 12 times more likely to abuse those medications than teens without a prescription.

"Sleeping pills are generally NOT a good idea for teens," Breus said.

So what's a parent to do? Educating teens and creating a family sleep schedule is a start, according to Breus.

"If parents can explain how sleep will effect grades, sports, activities ... it makes it easier," Breus said. "Next, they should sit down with their kids and create a sleep schedule that everyone can live with."

This story has been updated to include a new source that references a statistic on chronic sleep deprivation in teens.

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5 Scary Health Effects Of Sleep Deprivation During The Teen Years

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Sleep loss can take a devastating toll on the mind and body at any stage of life, from early childhood to older adulthood. But for teenagers, who are at a critical stage of development, skipping out on sleep can be particularly dangerous.

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Students in middle school are starting to skip classes and rather sleep in the bathroom. That’s my reason school should start like at 10:00 am and students still need time for their daily night and morning routine. -cynthia

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Why schools should start later-Alessandra 

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Why schools should start later-Alessandra 

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If school starts earlier and a teen that drives doesn’t get enough sleep it can cause a car accident according to Amy Morin’s article it states,”Over 100,000 car accidents occur each year when drivers falling asleep at the wheel.”-Alessandra

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Teen indeed more sleep look that why we need school more early

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Kids need sleep
So they can get stuff done on time and be ready for school/test

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Relying on harmful drinks By: Q-Vy Vu
Since it’s hard to stay awake at school from earlier start times, teens rely on coffee and energy drinks. The drinks are harmful for teen’s health. With later start times it would probably help them to stop drinking coffee. Evidence from “Serious dangers sleep deprived teens face” number 7.

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I think that schools should start late because students need sleep 💤 and no teachers want there students sleeping in there class.           -joana

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Learn how later school start times may help adolescents get enough sleep.

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We need sleep

That means go to bed when your parent tell you so you don’t get tired in the middle of class

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Blocking class would let students focus on  certain classes rather than all of them in one day

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Enough sleep By: Q-Vy Vu
Letting people sleep more would help them start their day better and with fewer accidents, because they are more awake and ready.

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Schools should not start early

Because it can cause low test scores not able to finish assignments on time or literally fall asleep

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Kids will score better on tests and get better grades              Weston

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It should be early because you get sleep and time later in the day~Valeria

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Rush to get ready By: Q-Vy Vu
Many people are in a rush to get ready for school, because of early start times that stress them in a hurry. Evidence     “A” paragraph 3.

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If we start early we have more time after school to go to sleep and work on anything before that and if we start later we will miss sport,events, etc (Owsley)

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Kids need more time to sleep because there not going to focus and just go to sleep

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Once it's 7:45 p.m., all is quiet at the Tanaka house in Los Angeles. Presley, 6, James, 4, and Jase, 2, are all sleeping soundly. "My husband and I sleep-trained them at an early age, and our routine is nonnegotiable," says Caroline, who works from home as a publicist. "They have a bath, brush their teeth, say a prayer, and get a story. Then it's lights-out. I'm convinced that's why they have fewer meltdowns. They also don't get as many colds as other kids in their class."

The Tanakas are on board with the increasingly urgent public-health mission to help American kids (not to mention their chronically exhausted mothers and fathers) get more sleep. Parents have always felt that sleep directly affects a child's mood, and most would agree it's got a big impact on learning and behavior. But pediatric researchers' latest findings suggest that sleep is also essential to good health. When kids get the sleep they need, they may have a lower risk of becoming overweight and developing diabetes as well as fewer learning problems and attention issues. Sleep is as important as nutrition and exercise. It's when the body repackages neurotransmitters, chemicals that enable brain cells to communicate. And experts have recently been able to demonstrate that sleep allows brain cells to "take out the trash" each night, flushing out disease-causing toxins.

Perhaps the most startling news from this research is how quickly kids fall into the danger zone. The repercussions of sleep deprivation are visible after only four nights of one fewer hour of sleep per night, found a study from Dalhousie University, in Nova Scotia. (This can happen during a school vacation, or when you have company for a holiday weekend, or even just by letting kids watch the World Series.) "I expected that we'd see some differences when kids get less sleep than usual," says senior author Penny Corkum, Ph.D. "But finding that they're so drastically affected in so short an amount of time is amazing."

You may realize that your child could use more shut-eye. "However, it can be very difficult to recognize all the ways that after-school and evening activities sabotage bedtime, and the damaging effects of allowing electronics into your kid's bedroom," says Parents advisor Jodi Mindell, Ph.D., associate director of the Sleep Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Specialists like Dr. Mindell outline these crucial reasons all children need their daily dose of sound sleep.
1. Sleep promotes growth.
You've probably had mornings where you've sworn your baby got bigger overnight, and you'd be right. "Growth hormone is primarily secreted during deep sleep," says Judith Owens, M.D., director of sleep medicine at Children's National Medical Center, in Washington, D.C., and a Parents advisor. Mother Nature seems to have protected babies by making sure they spend about 50 percent of their time in this deep sleep, considered to be essential for adequate growth. Italian researchers, studying children with deficient levels of growth hormone, have found that they sleep less deeply than average children do.
2. Sleep helps the heart.
Experts are learning more about how sleep protects kids from vascular damage due to circulating stress hormones and arterial wall -- damaging cholesterol. "Children with sleep disorders have excessive brain arousal during sleep, which can trigger the fight-or-flight response hundreds of times each night," says Jeffrey Durmer, M.D., Ph.D., a sleep specialist and researcher in Atlanta. "Their blood glucose and cortisol remain elevated at night. Both are linked to higher levels of diabetes, obesity, and even heart disease."
3. Sleep affects weight.
There's increasing evidence that getting too little sleep causes kids to become overweight, starting in infancy. One study from Penn State Children's Hospital has shown that when parents are coached on the difference between hunger and other distress cues and begin to soothe without feeding -- using such techniques as swaddling and swinging -- babies are more likely to be sound sleepers, and less likely to be overweight. Better yet? This coaching can begin when babies are 2 weeks old. The study followed the babies for a full year, and found that when parents used these techniques, it paid off. "Our intervention was the first to show that babies could actually be leaner in the first year," says Ian Paul, M.D., lead author and professor of pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine.

That's key, because the sleep-weight connection seems to snowball. When we've eaten enough to be satisfied, our fat cells create the hormone leptin, which signals us to stop eating. Sleep deprivation may impact this hormone, so kids keep right on eating. "Over time, kids who don't get enough sleep are more likely to be obese," says Dorit Koren, M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist and sleep researcher at the University of Chicago.

Worn-out kids also eat differently than those who are well rested. "Research has shown that children, like adults, crave higher-fat or higher-carb foods when they're tired," Dr. Koren says. "Tired children also tend to be more sedentary, so they burn fewer calories."
4. Sleep helps beat germs.
During sleep, children (and adults) also produce proteins known as cytokines, which the body relies on to fight infection, illness, and stress. (Besides battling illness, they also make us sleepy, which explains why having the flu or a cold feels so exhausting. It forces us to rest, which further aids the body's ability to heal.) Too little sleep appears to impact the number of cytokines on hand. And it's been found that adults who sleep fewer than seven hours per night are almost three times more likely to develop a cold when exposed to that virus than those who sleep eight or more hours. While there's little data on young children, studies of teens have found that reported bouts of illness declined with longer nightly sleep.
5. Sleep reduces injury risk.
Kids are clumsier and more impulsive when they don't get enough sleep, setting them up for accidents. One study of Chinese children found those who were short sleepers (i.e., fewer than nine hours per night for school-age children) were far more likely to have injuries that demanded medical attention. And 91 percent of kids who had two or more injuries in a 12-month period got fewer than nine hours of sleep per night.
6. Sleep increases kids' attention span.
Children who consistently sleep fewer than ten hours a night before age 3 are three times more likely to have hyperactivity and impulsivity problems by age 6. "But the symptoms of sleep-deprivation and ADHD, including impulsivity and distractibility, mirror each other almost exactly," explains Dr. Owens. In other words, tired kids can be impulsive and distracted even though they don't have ADHD. No one knows how many kids are misdiagnosed with the condition, but ruling out sleep issues is an important part of the diagnosis, she says. For school-age kids, research has shown that adding as little as 27 minutes of extra sleep per night makes it easier for them to manage their moods and impulses so they can focus on schoolwork. Kids with ADHD also seem to be more vulnerable to the effects of too little sleep. Parents are almost three times as likely to report that their child with ADHD has a hard time falling and/or staying asleep than parents whose kids don't have ADHD, says Dr. Owens.
7. Sleep boosts learning.
A baby may look peaceful when he's sleeping, but his brain is busy all night long. Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have shown that newborns actually learn in their sleep: Investigators played certain sounds for sleeping newborns, followed with a gentle puff of air on their eyelids. Within 20 minutes, the sleeping babies -- who were between 1 and 2 days old -- had already learned to anticipate the air puff by squinting. And as for that twitching all babies do as they snooze? It seems to be how their nervous system tests the connection between the brain and muscles.

Sleep aids learning in kids of all ages, and education experts are finding that naps have a particular magic. Neuroscientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst taught a group of 40 preschoolers a game similar to Memory. Then the kids took a nap (averaging 77 minutes) one week and stayed awake the other week. When they stayed awake they forgot 15 percent of what they'd learned, but when they napped they retained everything. The kids scored better on the game not only after they'd just woken up but the next day too.

Making sure families get enough sleep isn't easy, especially with parents working longer hours, more elaborate after-school activities, bedrooms full of cool electronics, and the pressure to pack more into every day. "We've done a good job of teaching parents about why kids need to exercise and eat healthy foods," says Dr. Corkum. "Still, the simple fact is that kids sleep less today than they used to. And unless we make an effort to get that sleep time back, their health will suffer."

The nice news in all of this: From early on, there is plenty you can do to help your kids grow up loving their zzz's.

Encourage self-soothing. Try not to let your infant fall asleep while eating, and put her to bed when she's still awake. By 3 months, you should slow your response time when she wakes up crying at night. By 6 months, when most babies typically sleep through the night, consider giving up the monitor if your room isn't very far away. Or you can turn the volume down. You'll be less tempted to rush to your fussing baby, and she'll be more likely to drift back to sleep on her own.

Create a solid routine. Children should have a consistent bedtime ritual by 3 months that lasts no more than 30 to 40 minutes, bath included, says Dr. Mindell. And for kids up to age 10, make sure bedtime is before 9 p.m. "Children who go to bed after 9 p.m. take longer to fall asleep, wake more often at night, and get less sleep overall," she says. Dr. Durmer also suggests sticking with the usual bedtime sounds, like recorded ocean waves or a fan, and favorite sleep-time objects, such as a special blanket or pillow.

Set the stage for sleep. Try to maintain the same temperature and level of light in your child's room, even when on vacation, says Dr. Durmer. Shut off screens too, because research is mounting about the light generated by computers and tablets: Just two hours of screen time right before bed is enough to lower levels of melatonin -- a chemical that occurs naturally at night and signals sleep to the body -- by 22 percent. Ditch devices after dinner.

Add another bedtime story. You already know reading to kids helps them learn, but hearing storybooks is a great way for kids to head off to dreamland. "Of all activities, reading printed books appears to be most relaxing," says Michael Gradisar, a clinical psychologist at Flinders University, in Adelaide, Australia.

Run a sleep audit. It makes sense to periodically measure your child's sleep time, especially if you're seeing trouble signs. (Alas, you'll need to do it the old-fashioned way: Wearable trackers can make mistakes with anyone, but they're especially inaccurate on kids, who move around more in all stages of sleep. A study found that one such device underestimated kids' sleep by an average of 109 minutes.)

"Parents may not identify a kid's daytime meltdowns as a sleep-related problem," says Ancy Lewis, a sleep coach in White Plains, New York. "However, when they track their child's sleep and make a consistent effort to get him to bed an hour earlier for a week, the problems get much better." This is especially helpful for preschoolers, who are transitioning away from naps. For older kids, each school year brings new activities and demands. Red flags include dozing off in front of the TV or in the car.

Children who have special needs often also have undiagnosed sleep-disordered breathing, including apnea and snoring, as well as multiple sleep-related disorders, says Dr. Jeffrey Durmer. Kids who snore are twice as likely to have a learning impairment; nearly two thirds of children with Down syndrome have sleep apnea. What's more, anywhere from 40 to 80 percent of children who have autism spectrum disorder also have sleep problems, such as greater difficulty falling asleep and waking up more often during the night.

"Children who have special needs are more vulnerable to outbursts when they have changes in their sleep patterns," says sleep coach Ancy Lewis, who has a son with special needs. "Sleep deprivation can worsen any challenges that these kids face." So a regular sleep routine is even more important. In fact, a recent study concluded that providing families of children with autism with just an hour of individual coaching or four hours of group sleep coaching helps these kids sleep more consistently.

Between 20 and 30 percent of children have experienced sleep problems, says Dr. Jodi Mindell. As many as 40 percent of kids have sleepwalked at least once, usually between the ages of 2 and 6, according to the National Sleep Foundation. And up to 6 percent may have night terrors. Some issues -- like snoring -- may seem harmless but can be a concern, so talk to your doctor if your child snores more than three nights per week.
All content on this Web site, including medical opinion and any other health-related information, is for informational purposes only and should not be considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for any individual situation. Use of this site and the information contained herein does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.

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Once it's 7:45 p.m., all is quiet at the Tanaka house in Los Angeles. Presley, 6, James, 4, and Jase, 2, are all sleeping soundly. "My husband and I sleep-trained them at an early age, and our routine is nonnegotiable," says Caroline, who works from home as a publicist.

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School should start later to improve grades, moods, and safety

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School should start later to improve grades, moods, and safety

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School should start later to improve students ability to learn, make them happier, and make them safer (Richard)

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-Joey

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Adam Ruins Everything - How School Start Times Affect Teens' Sleep Patterns | truTV

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School should start later cause if your like me then you probably go to sleep around 10:00 and probably wake up tired-Pedro

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Schools need to start later because it would reduce stress in the morning
-Joey

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I feel like it should be in the middle because you get more sleep and still some time do do things in the afternoon~Valeria

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I feel like it should be in the middle because you get more sleep and still some time do do things in the afternoon~Valeria

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Schools should start later because it would have a lot of benefits such as the that people will be able to get more sleep and that will reduce car crashes as well as benefit people’s grades, however  nothing good comes without a cost so there will also be cons like, not everyone’s parents can drive them to school if they change the school start times also if school starts later then there most likely won’t be any time for schools to have after school activity’s. -Dasha

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Kids get more free time at home aswell  if schools start early

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Teens need 9 hours of sleep and 87 percent are not getting that Doc A

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Students could get anxiety disorders and depression from later school start times.

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Students could get anxiety disorders and depression from later school start times.

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Students who start school earlier are 24% more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders and depression (Source: deprivation and teens: “walking zombies” by Valerie Strauss) (Richard)

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School should start later because students need time in the afternoon for activities, time with family, and time for homework. Students need time in the morning to eat breakfast, get ready, and drive or walk to school. -Cynthia

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Sleep deprived kids have to face a 🤬 ton of symptoms. Some of them include depression, and a higher rise in anxiety. I’m pretty sure it’s not fun having either of those, it has to suck, and I’m pretty sure schools don’t want to be the reason kids constantly feel somewhat dead and sad.

-Sophie McLeod

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At the same time, today's teens are maturing in an era of ubiquitous electronic media, and they are fervent participants. Some 92 percent of U.S. teens have smartphones, and 24 percent report being online "constantly," according to a 2015 report by the Pew Research Center. Teens have access to multiple electronic devices they use simultaneously, often at night. Some 72 percent bring cellphones into their bedrooms and use them when they are trying to go to sleep, and 28 percent leave their phones on while sleeping, only to be awakened at night by texts, calls or emails, according to a 2011 National Sleep Foundation poll on electronic use. In addition, some 64 percent use electronic music devices, 60 percent use laptops and 23 percent play video games in the hour before they went to sleep, the poll found. More than half reported texting in the hour before they went to sleep, and these media fans were less likely to report getting a good night's sleep and feeling refreshed in the morning. They were also more likely to drive when drowsy, the poll found.

The problem of sleep-phase delay is exacerbated when teens are exposed late at night to lit screens, which send a message via the retina to the portion of the brain that controls the body's circadian clock. The message: It's not nighttime yet.

Yuan, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics, said she routinely sees young patients in her clinic who fall asleep at night with cellphones in hand.

"With academic demands and extracurricular activities, the kids are going nonstop until they fall asleep exhausted at night. There is not an emphasis on the importance of sleep, as there is with nutrition and exercise," she said. "They say they are tired, but they don't realize they are actually sleep-deprived. And if you ask kids to remove an activity, they would rather not. They would rather give up sleep than an activity."

The role of parents

Adolescents are also entering a period in which they are striving for autonomy and want to make their own decisions, including when to go to sleep. But studies suggest adolescents do better in terms of mood and fatigue levels if parents set the bedtime - and choose a time that is realistic for the child's needs. According to a 2010 study published in the journal Sleep, children are more likely to be depressed and to entertain thoughts of suicide if a parent sets a late bedtime of midnight or beyond.

In families where parents set the time for sleep, the teens' happier, better-rested state "may be a sign of an organized family life, not simply a matter of bedtime," Carskadon said. "On the other hand, the growing child and growing teens still benefit from someone who will help set the structure for their lives. And they aren't good at making good decisions."

They say they are tired, but they don't realize they are actually sleep-deprived. And if you ask kids to remove an activity, they would rather not. They would rather give up sleep than an activity.

According to the 2011 sleep poll, by the time U.S. students reach their senior year in high school, they are sleeping an average of 6.9 hours a night, down from an average of 8.4 hours in the sixth grade. The poll included teens from across the country from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

American teens aren't the worst off when it comes to sleep, however; South Korean adolescents have that distinction, sleeping on average 4.9 hours a night, according to a 2012 study in Sleep by South Korean researchers. These Asian teens routinely begin school between 7 and 8:30 a.m., and most sign up for additional evening classes that may keep them up as late as midnight. South Korean adolescents also have relatively high suicide rates (10.7 per 100,000 a year), and the researchers speculate that chronic sleep deprivation is a contributor to this disturbing phenomenon.

By contrast, Australian teens are among those who do particularly well when it comes to sleep time, averaging about nine hours a night, possibly because schools there usually start later.

Regardless of where they live, most teens follow a pattern of sleeping less during the week and sleeping in on the weekends to compensate. But many accumulate such a backlog of sleep debt that they don't sufficiently recover on the weekend and still wake up fatigued when Monday comes around.

Moreover, the shifting sleep patterns on the weekend - late nights with friends, followed by late mornings in bed - are out of sync with their weekday rhythm. Carskadon refers to this as "social jet lag."

"Every day we teach our internal circadian timing system what time it is - is it day or night? - and if that message is substantially different every day, then the clock isn't able to set things appropriately in motion," she said. "In the last few years, we have learned there is a master clock in the brain, but there are other clocks in other organs, like liver or kidneys or lungs, so the master clock is the coxswain, trying to get everybody to work together to improve efficiency and health. So if the coxswain is changing the pace, all the crew become disorganized and don't function well."

This disrupted rhythm, as well as the shortage of sleep, can have far-reaching effects on adolescent health and well-being, she said.

"It certainly plays into learning and memory. It plays into appetite and metabolism and weight gain. It plays into mood and emotion, which are already heightened at that age. It also plays into risk behaviors - taking risks while driving, taking risks with substances, taking risks maybe with sexual activity. So the more we look outside, the more we're learning about the core role that sleep plays," Carskadon said.

Many studies show students who sleep less suffer academically, as chronic sleep loss impairs the ability to remember, concentrate, think abstractly and solve problems. In one of many studies on sleep and academic performance, Carskadon and her colleagues surveyed 3,000 high school students and found that those with higher grades reported sleeping more, going to bed earlier on school nights and sleeping in less on weekends than students who had lower grades.

Sleep is believed to reinforce learning and memory, with studies showing that people perform better on mental tasks when they are well-rested. "We hypothesize that when teens sleep, the brain is going through processes of consolidation - learning of experiences or making memories," Yuan said. "It's like your brain is filtering itself - consolidating the important things and filtering out those unimportant things." When the brain is deprived of that opportunity, cognitive function suffers, along with the capacity to learn.

"It impacts academic performance. It's harder to take tests and answer questions if you are sleep-deprived," she said.

That's why cramming, at the expense of sleep, is counterproductive, said Pelayo, who advises students: Don't lose sleep to study, or you'll lose out in the end.

The panic attack

Chloe Mauvais, 16, hit her breaking point at the end of a very challenging sophomore year when she reached "the depths of frustration and anxiety." After months of late nights spent studying to keep up with academic demands, she suffered a panic attack one evening at home.

"I sat in the living room in our house on the ground, crying and having horrible breathing problems," said the senior at Menlo-Atherton High School. "It was so scary. I think it was from the accumulated stress, the fear over my grades, the lack of sleep and the crushing sense of responsibility. High school is a very hard place to be."

We hypothesize that when teens sleep, the brain is going through processes of consolidation - learning of experiences or making memories. It's like your brain is filtering itself.

Where she once had good sleep habits, she had drifted into an unhealthy pattern of staying up late, sometimes until 3 a.m., researching and writing papers for her AP European history class and prepping for tests.

"I have difficulty remembering events of that year, and I think it's because I didn't get enough sleep," she said. "The lack of sleep rendered me emotionally useless. I couldn't address the stress because I had no coherent thoughts. I couldn't step back and have perspective. ... You could probably talk to any teen and find they reach their breaking point. You've pushed yourself so much and not slept enough and you just lose it."

The experience was a kind of wake-up call, as she recognized the need to return to a more balanced life and a better sleep pattern, she said. But for some teens, this toxic mix of sleep deprivation, stress and anxiety, together with other external pressures, can tip their thinking toward dire solutions.

Research has shown that sleep problems among adolescents are a major risk factor for suicidal thoughts and death by suicide, which ranks as the third-leading cause of fatalities among 15- to 24-year-olds. And this link between sleep and suicidal thoughts remains strong, independent of whether the teen is depressed or has drug and alcohol issues, according to some studies.

"Sleep, especially deep sleep, is like a balm for the brain," said Shashank Joshi, MD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford. "The better your sleep, the more clearly you can think while awake, and it may enable you to seek help when a problem arises. You have your faculties with you. You may think, 'I have 16 things to do, but I know where to start.' Sleep deprivation can make it hard to remember what you need to do for your busy teen life. It takes away the support, the infrastructure."

Sleep is believed to help regulate emotions, and its deprivation is an underlying component of many mood disorders, such as anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. For students who are prone to these disorders, better sleep can help serve as a buffer and help prevent a downhill slide, Joshi said.

Rebecca Bernert, PhD, who directs the Suicide Prevention Research Lab at Stanford, said sleep may affect the way in which teens process emotions. Her work with civilians and military veterans indicates that lack of sleep can make people more receptive to negative emotional information, which they might shrug off if they were fully rested, she said.

"Based on prior research, we have theorized that sleep disturbances may result in difficulty regulating emotional information, and this may lower the threshold for suicidal behaviors among at-risk individuals," said Bernert, an instructor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. Now she's studying whether a brief nondrug treatment for insomnia reduces depression and risk for suicide.

Sleep deprivation also has been shown to lower inhibitions among both adults and teens. In the teen brain, the frontal lobe, which helps restrain impulsivity, isn't fully developed, so teens are naturally prone to impulsive behavior. "When you throw into the mix sleep deprivation, which can also be disinhibiting, mood problems and the normal impulsivity of adolescence, then you have a potentially dangerous situation," Joshi said.

Some schools shift

Given the health risks associated with sleep problems, school districts around the country have been looking at one issue over which they have some control: when school starts in the morning. The trend was set by the town of Edina, Minnesota, a well-to-do suburb of Minneapolis, which conducted a landmark experiment in student sleep in the late 1990s. It shifted the high school's start time from 7:20 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and then asked University of Minnesota researchers to look at the impact of the change. The researchers found some surprising results: Students reported feeling less depressed and less sleepy during the day and more empowered to succeed. There was no comparable improvement in student well-being in surrounding school districts where start times remained the same.

With these findings in hand, the entire Minneapolis Public School District shifted start times for 57,000 students at all of its schools in 1997 and found similarly positive results. Attendance rates rose, and students reported getting an hour's more sleep each school night - or a total of five more hours of sleep a week - countering skeptics who argued that the students would respond by just going to bed later.

For the health and well-being of the nation, we should all be taking better care of our sleep, and we certainly should be taking better care of the sleep of our youth.

Other studies have reinforced the link between later start times and positive health benefits. One 2010 study at an independent high school in Rhode Island found that after delaying the start time by just 30 minutes, students slept more and showed significant improvements in alertness and mood. And a 2014 study in two counties in Virginia found that teens were much less likely to be involved in car crashes in a county where start times were later, compared with a county with an earlier start time.

Bolstered by the evidence, the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2014 issued a strong policy statement encouraging middle and high school districts across the country to start school no earlier than 8:30 a.m. to help preserve the health of the nation's youth. Some districts have heeded the call, though the decisions have been hugely contentious, as many consider school schedules sacrosanct and cite practical issues, such as bus schedules, as obstacles.

In Fairfax County, Virginia, it took a decade of debate before the school board voted in 2014 to push back the opening school bell for its 57,000 students. And in Palo Alto, where a recent cluster of suicides has caused much communitywide soul-searching, the district superintendent issued a decision in the spring, over the strenuous objections of some teachers, students and administrators, to eliminate "zero period" for academic classes - an optional period that begins at 7:20 a.m. and is generally offered for advanced studies.

Certainly, changing school start times is only part of the solution, experts say. More widespread education about sleep and more resources for students are needed. Parents and teachers need to trim back their expectations and minimize pressures that interfere with teen sleep. And there needs to be a cultural shift, including a move to discourage late-night use of electronic devices, to help youngsters gain much-needed rest.

"At some point, we are going to have to confront this as a society," Carskadon said. "For the health and well-being of the nation, we should all be taking better care of our sleep, and we certainly should be taking better care of the sleep of our youth."

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Among teens, sleep deprivation an epidemic

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Sleep deprivation increases the likelihood teens will suffer myriad negative consequences, including an inability to concentrate, poor grades, drowsy-driving incidents, anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide and even suicide attempts.

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I think that many people need later school start times will help people sleep more. Getting more sleep can increase grades and academic scores, as it says in evidence “A” paragraph four.

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-Joey

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Teens show improved grades, attendance with later school start time, researchers find

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School should start later because no enough sleep 😴 can cause depression and anxiety and other health stuff. Not a enough sleep also can be a factor in car accidents. According to Valerie Strauss . Why this is true scientists did tests . Gabriella.

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They should start school time early because kids they get to sleep early and will have more time and can do stuff later in the afternoon 

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They should start school time early because kids they get to sleep early and will have more time and can do stuff later in the afternoon 

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I think school should start early because we have more time after school
Because you can sleep after school and after you still can  do what you wanted to do .

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Students need more sleep and stop using 🤬 because they won’t get the sleep they need and 🤬 are bad Ariel

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Here’s why I think schools should start later -Dasha

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Teens May Do Better When School Starts Later

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Teens aren't wired to wake up so early, so middle and high schools should start later, sleep experts say.

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School start times should be earlier. (Mia Jordan)

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School start times should be earlier. (Mia Jordan)

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School start times should start later because kids need more sleep and time to get ready. Students won’t be tired and exhausted in first class. -Mia

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Learn how later school start times may help adolescents get enough sleep.

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Older students have jobs and might have babysitting for parents they wouldn’t be as available if school times where late r.

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Both Teachers and students could benefit from later start times

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Both Teachers and students could benefit from later start times

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If we start school later, teachers and students will be more awake and alert (Richard)

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'Wakey, wakey, sleepy head.' shutterstock

A typical school day in the UK starts around 8.30am. This is often even earlier elsewhere in the world, with students sitting down to their first lesson at 7.30am in the US.

But these early start times can play havoc with teenager's natural sleeping patterns - with research showing that waking a teenager at seven in the morning for school is similar to waking an adult at four in the morning. And while many adults wouldn't relish such an early alarm call every working day, it's a "non-negotiable" expectation for teenagers.

The average teenager ideally needs eight to nine hours' sleep each night, but in reality a lot of teenagers struggle to get this much - which can then impact their performance in the classroom.

A lot of the problems arise because our sleep patterns are not fixed, and they change as we grow. For teenagers, melatonin - the sleep hormone - doesn't start being produced until 11pm. This is why teens don't start feeling sleepy until late at night, and why simply telling a teenager to go to bed earlier doesn't work.

This has led to calls for later school start times for teenagers to align more closely with their bodies' biology.

What the research shows

A major study published in 2014 examined the impact of later start times on 9,000 US teenagers. Researchers found that:

Grades earned in core subject areas of math, English, science and social studies, plus performance on state and national achievement tests, attendance rates and reduced tardiness show significantly positive improvement with the later start times.

They also found that with less sleep than recommended, the students reported that they had:

Significantly higher depression symptoms, greater use of caffeine, and are at greater risk of making poor choices for substance use.

In the US - where teenagers can legally drive from the age of 16 - the research also found later start times led to a decrease in car accidents involving teenage drivers.

Why teenagers sleep differently

To understand why a later school start time can make such a difference to teenagers' lives, we need to take a look at the biology that governs their sleep wake cycle.

We all have a sort of hardwired "clock" in the brain - this is often referred to as our body clock. This "clock" controls the production of the hormone melatonin, and in turn, melatonin controls sleep. Melatonin is naturally produced in the brain and starts the process of sleepiness by telling your body that it's time for bed.

Once asleep, we normally go through five sleep stages a night. And one of the stages - the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage - varies significantly with age.

Pexels.

REM sleep is linked to learning, and it's during REM sleep that we dream. It is characterised by quick, random movements of the eyes and paralysis of the muscles. REM sleep normally makes up around 20-25% of an adult human's total time spent asleep - or 90 to 120 minutes. We get to REM sleep about 70 to 90 minutes after falling asleep. And if we don't achieve REM sleep, we wake up feeling tired.

Studies have also shown that lack of REM sleep can impact our ability to learn. And this is what happens to teenagers who do not get their full allocation of sleep. They fail to get to REM sleep and then wake up feeling tired, which can then impact their ability in the classroom that day.

The benefits for late starters

So a later school start time could help to solve this problem, by ensuring teenagers get their eight plus hours of sleep and react properly to their body's natural rhythms.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a policy statement in 2014 that:

Delaying school start times is an effective countermeasure to chronic sleep loss and has a wide range of potential benefits to students with regard to physical and mental health, safety, and academic achievement.

I believe we should also look again at the timing of the whole school day and see if we can make it better for everyone. Because in my experience, there has been a general shift over the past 25 years to shorten the school day.

This is not at the cost of teaching time (which has remained constant) but at the cost of natural breaks, which has led to reduced lunch times and lesson breaks.

Shutterstock

This is mainly because it makes the management of children easier. Supervising hundreds of children "playing" requires effective staffing. And there is always the fear that behaviour deteriorates during breaks. So the theory goes that having them in class and strictly supervised must be better.

But this means that students barely have enough time to absorb what they were doing in maths before suddenly they are thrust into ancient history. And teaching staff also transition from one class to another, with hardly a rest or time to refocus.

Clearly rethinking the school day could benefit everyone involved. Yes, there may be challenges in terms of parental work patterns, transport to school or changing childcare arrangements, but it could also lead to better achievement in teenagers and less of a struggle for parents in the mornings. For teachers, it could also mean a less stressful day all around - and what could be better than that?

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Why both teens and teachers could benefit from later school start times

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A typical school day in the UK starts around 8.30am. This is often even earlier elsewhere in the world, with students sitting down to their first lesson at 7.30am in the US.

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Early school times are less expensive because of buses as it says in article A

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Must start later due to the fact that these ppl need more sleep 😴
-Dasha

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Why should schools start later?

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Elisey

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An internal "body clock" National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) The NHLBI is the nation's leader in the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders. View Source regulates your sleep cycle, controlling when you feel tired and ready for bed or refreshed and alert. This clock operates on a 24-hour cycle known as the circadian rhythm. After waking up from sleep, you'll become increasingly tired throughout the day. These feelings will peak in the evening leading up to bedtime.

This sleep drive - also known as sleep-wake homeostasis - may be linked to adenosine, an organic compound produced in the brain. Adenosine levels increase throughout the day as you become more tired, and then the body breaks down this compound during sleep.

Light also influences the circadian rhythm. The brain contains a special region of nerve cells known as the hypothalamus, and a cluster of cells in the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which processes signals when the eyes are exposed to natural or artificial light. These signals help the brain determine whether it is day or night.

As natural light disappears in the evening, the body will release melatonin, a hormone that induces drowsiness. When the sun rises in the morning, the body will release the hormone known as cortisol that promotes energy and alertness.

Stages of Sleep

Once we fall asleep, our bodies follow a sleep cycle divided into four stages. The first three stages are known as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and the final stage is known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Stage 1 NREM: This first stage marks the transition between wakefulness and sleep, and consists of light sleep. Muscles relax and your heart rate, breathing, and eye movements begin to slow down, as do your brain waves, which are more active when you are awake. Stage 1 typically lasts several minutes.

Stage 2 NREM: This second NREM sleep stage is characterized by deeper sleep as your heart rate and breathing rates continue slowing down and the muscles become more relaxed. Eye movements will cease and your body temperature will decrease. Apart from some brief moments of higher frequency electrical activity, brain waves also remain slow. Stage 2 is typically the longest of the four sleep stages.

Stage 3 NREM: This stage plays an important role in making you feel refreshed and alert the next day. Heartbeat, breathing, and brain wave activity all reach their lowest levels, and the muscles are as relaxed as they will be. This stage will be longer at first and decrease in duration throughout the night.

memory consolidation National Center for Biotechnology Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. REM: The first REM stage will occur about 90 minutes after you fall asleep. As the name suggests, your eyes will move back and forth rather quickly under your eyelids. Breathing rate, heart rate, and blood pressure will begin to increase. Dreaming will typically occur during REM sleep, and your arms and legs will become paralyzed - it's believed this is intended to prevent you from physically acting out on your dreams. The duration of each REM sleep cycle increases as the night progresses. Numerous studies have also linked REM sleep to View Source , the process of converting recently learned experiences into long-term memories. The duration of the REM stage will decrease as you age, causing you to spend more time in the NREM stages.

These four stages will repeat cyclically throughout the night until you wake up. For most people, the duration of each cycle will last about 90-120 minutes Merck Manual First published in 1899 as a small reference book for physicians and pharmacists, the Manual grew in size and scope to become one of the most widely used comprehensive medical resources for professionals and consumers. View Source . NREM sleep constitutes about 75% to 80% of each cycle. You may also wake up briefly during the night but not remember the next day. These episodes are known as "W" stages.

The right amount of sleep largely depends on your age.

For most adults, at least seven hours of sleep each night is needed for proper cognitive and behavioral functions. An insufficient amount of sleep can lead to serious repercussions. Some studies have shown sleep deprivation leaves people vulnerable to attention lapses, reduced cognition, delayed reactions, and mood shifts.

It's also been suggested that people can develop a sort of tolerance to chronic sleep deprivation. Even though their brains and bodies struggle due to lack of sleep, they may not be aware of their own deficiencies because less sleep feels normal to them. Additionally, lack of sleep has been linked to a higher risk for certain diseases and medical conditions. These include obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, poor mental health, and early death.

Adults who do not receive a sufficient amount of sleep each night can implement some positive lifestyle and sleep habits in order to log the needed seven to nine hours. These include the following:

Establish a realistic bedtime and stick to it every night, even on the weekends.

Maintain comfortable temperature settings and low light levels in your bedroom.

Keep a comfortable sleep environment by ensuring you have the best mattress, best pillows, and best sheets for your sleep preferences and body type.

Consider a "screen ban" on televisions, computers and tablets, cell phones, and other electronic devices in your bedroom.

Abstain from caffeine, alcohol, and large meals in the hours leading up to bedtime.

Refrain from using tobacco at any time of day or night.

Exercise during the day; this can help you wind down in the evening and prepare for sleep.

Learn more about our Editorial Team

References

1. A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia. (2020, August 13). Sleep and your health. MedlinePlus., Retrieved from
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000871.htm

2. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes (NINDS). (2019, August 13). Brain basics: Understanding Sleep., Retrieved from
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/public-education/brain-basics/brain-basics-understanding-sleep

3. Consensus Conference Panel, Watson, N. F., Badr, M. S., Belenky, G., Bliwise, D. L., Buxton, O. M., Buysse, D., Dinges, D. F., Gangwisch, J., Grandner, M. A., Kushida, C., Malhotra, R. K., Martin, J. L., Patel, S. R., Quan, S. F., Tasali, E., Non-Participating Observers, Twery, M., Croft, J. B., Maher, E., ... Heald, J. L. (2015). Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: A joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 11(6), 591-592., Retrieved from
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25979105/

4. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (n.d.). Sleep deprivation and deficiency., Retrieved August 20, 2020, from
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency

5. Rasch, B., & Born, J. (2013). About Sleep's Role in Memory. Physiological Reviews, 93(2), 681-766., Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3768102/

6. Schwab, R. J. (2020, June). Merck Manual Consumer Version: Overview of Sleep., Retrieved from
https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/brain,-spinal-cord,-and-nerve-disorders/sleep-disorders/overview-of-sleep

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Why Do We Need Sleep? | Sleep Foundation

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We tend to think of sleep as a time when the mind and body shut down. But this is not the case; sleep is an active period in which a lot of important processing, restoration, and strengthening occurs. Exactly how this happens and why our bodies are programmed for such a long period of slumber is still somewhat of a mystery.

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There are kids out there trying to sleep and can’t because they are worrying about what there gonna wear to school and when school is going to start. -Cynthia

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If schools start at a earlier times it can cause sleep deprived students to come to school ,some of the consequences are it can increase mental health problems like anxiety, it can also interfere with a students development and physical health-Alessandra

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Schools should start later in the day cause students often don’t get enough sleep and so they fall asleep in class and there grades usually lower cause they don’t stay awake to listen-Pedro

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How Would Later School Start Times Affect Sleep? | Sleep Foundation

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Experts recommend middle and high schools begin no sooner than 8:30 a.m. Later school start times will increase adolescent sleep and improve their performance.

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It is unhealthy to not have any sleep because it can  Causes poor performances on tests

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-Joey

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Why school should start later for teens | Wendy Troxel

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So kids can get more sleep and wake up happy but we start early we won’t  get no sleep so we should go to sleep at 7:30 but if you want to go to sleep early you are going to be tired 😴
By:nyemah 🤤

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Schools should start later for the benefit of kids and teens (Richard)

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Good Reasons Why School Should Start Later

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Are there good reasons for starting school later? Yes. There are many benefits of starting school later; especially for middle school and high school students.

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School start times should start later because students need to get more sleep at night and need time to get ready In the morning, most kids don’t eat breakfast for being in a hurry for school -cynthia

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Early school times allow teens to do after school activities

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Kids brains need sleep
Mr. Johnston

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Research tells us that later sleep and wake patterns among adolescents are biologically determined; the natural tendency for teenagers is to stay up late at night and wake up later in the morning. This research indicates that school bells that ring as early as 7:00 a.m. in many parts of the country stand in stark contrast with adolescents' sleep patterns and needs.

Evidence suggests that teenagers are indeed seriously sleep deprived. A recent poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation found that 60% of children under the age of 18 complained of being tired during the day, according to their parents, and 15% said they fell asleep at school during the year.

On April 2 of 1999, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), introduced a congressional resolution to encourage schools and school districts to reconsider early morning start times to be more in sync with teens' biological makeup. House Congressional Resolution 135 or the "ZZZ's to A's" Act would encourage individual schools and school districts all over the country to move school start times to no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

"I hope this is a wake up call to school districts and parents all over this country," said Lofgren. "With early school start times, some before 7:00 a.m., adolescents are not getting enough sleep.

"Over time, sleep deprivation leads to serious consequences for academic achievement, social behavior, and the health and safety of our nation's youth," the Congresswoman added. "We must encourage schools to push back their start times to at least 8:30 a.m. - a schedule more in tune with adolescents' biological sleep and wake patterns and more closely resembling the adult work day."

Lofgren's work has continued. In 2014, The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) worked with U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren to introduce legislation that addresses the relationship between school start times and adolescent health, wellbeing and performance. We encourage you to contact your Representatives and urge them to support this bill.

Poll Data

In fact, public opinion seems to side with Lofgren's "Zzz's to A's" resolution. According to the National Sleep Foundation's 2002 Sleep in America poll, 80% of respondents said high schools should start no earlier than 8:00 a.m. each day; nearly one-half of these respondents (47%) said start times should be between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. Only 17% of those polled said high school classes should begin before 8:00 a.m.

Effects

A University of Minnesota study demonstrates the impact of pushing back school start times. After the Minneapolis Public School District changed the starting times of seven high schools from 7:15 a.m. to 8:40 a.m., the study investigated the impact of later start times on student performance, and the results are encouraging. It found that students benefited by obtaining five or more extra hours of sleep per week.

It also found improvement in attendance and enrollment rates, increased daytime alertness, and decreased student-reported depression. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adolescents get 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night, however, few actually get that much sleep.

Even with compelling research, changing school start times can be challenging for school districts. Administrators have to delay busing schedules. Coaches worry about scheduling practices and many parents rely on the current start times for reasons such as childcare or carpools.

Students are concerned that being in school later in the day means that it will cut into after-school jobs and other extracurricular activities. Still, there are convincing reasons to push back school start times. There are several advantages for teens to get the sleep they need:

less likelihood of experiencing depressed moods;

reduced likelihood for tardiness;

reduced absenteeism;

better grades;

reduced risk of drowsy driving; and

reduced risk of metabolic and nutritional deficits associated with insufficient sleep, including obesity.

With the resumption of school classes in the fall, start times are likely to remain a hot topic. Thus far, individual schools or districts in 19 states have pushed back their start times, and more than 100 school districts in an additional 17 states are considering delaying their start times.

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School Start Time & Sleep- National Sleep Foundation

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Research tells us that later sleep and wake patterns among adolescents are biologically determined; the natural tendency for teenagers is to stay up late at night and wake up later in the morning. This research indicates that school bells that ring as early as 7:00 a.m.

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School should start later. Here's an article supporting this claim:

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School should start later. Here's an article supporting this claim:

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Mr. Johnston

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Learn how later school start times may help adolescents get enough sleep.