Not many people can honestly say that they are one hundred percent a ‘morning person’, and for those that identify as such, morning hardly ever means 4:30 or 5 a.m. Waking up this early in the morning is something that many high schoolers are required to do in order to make it to school on time. In this essay, I will explain why high schools should push their start times back so that classes begin later in the morning. Later start times for high schools are beneficial for the mental and physical health of students, lead to higher levels of student productivity, and benefit the overall economy, therefore, high schools should change their start times to later on in the morning.
One of the most important reasons why high schools should start later is that starting later in the morning has been shown to be better for the mental and physical health of high school students. According to Tim Goral, “As children age, particularly as they become adolescents, their circadian rhythms get delayed a little bit, and they require later bedtimes and later wake times. We know that these children have difficulty falling asleep before 11 p.m., and they need eight to ten hours of sleep per night to support optimal health” (Goral). Keeping these times in mind and doing the math, if a teenager falls asleep right at 11 o’clock and sleeps for a minimum of eight hours, the earliest they should be waking up is 7 a.m. However, most high schoolers are not able to do this, considering that the average U.S. high school starts between 7:30 and 8 a.m. If high school students were to get the minimum amount of sleep that they require, they would only have thirty minutes to an hour left to eat breakfast, get dressed, and commute to school. According to a study performed by the National Center for Education Statistics, “Over 10% of U.S. high schools start before 7:30 a.m., 42.5% start before 8 a.m., and only 14.4% start at 8:30 a.m.” (NCES 15). These early start times do not allow high school students sufficient time to get the minimum hours of sleep that they require to stay healthy.
Many teenagers in high school are sleep deprived because they are unable to achieve the amount of sleep that their bodies need. Sustained sleep deprivation is detrimental to the mental and physical health of high school students. Startschoollater.net reports: “Insufficient sleep in teens is associated with obesity, migraines, and immune system disruption and with health risk behaviors including smoking, drinking, stimulant abuse, physical fighting, physical inactivity, depression, and suicidal tendencies” (‘Wake Up Calls (Fast Facts)’). Students who attend high schools with later start times have been shown to have a decrease in these health issues; students who can sleep longer have been shown to have lower blood pressure levels, healthier cholesterol levels, and lower chances of being overweight compared to students who get less sleep (‘The Big Number: How 48 Minutes of Extra Sleep Helped These Teens’). A study done by researchers at the University of Minnesota and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found that later high school start times led to major decreases in teenage substance abuse, depression, and consumption of caffeine (‘Wake Up Calls (Fast Facts)’).
Later school start times also lead to higher productivity levels from students. Due to the fact that early school start times lead to sleep deprivation, high school students are often fatigued when they get to class. Being fatigued leads students to have issues such as falling asleep in class and having difficulties focusing on the lesson. This means that the students are not fully learning and comprehending all the information that they are being taught and that they are more likely to perform poorly on homework assignments and tests. Starting high schools at later times would combat this issue because students would be more likely to be well-rested and alert in class. According to James Urton, a study done on high school sophomores by the University of Washington and the Salk Institute for Biological Research found that “once the school start time was moved up by 55 minutes, students’ average grades were 4.5% higher, and there was a decrease in tardiness and first-period absences” (Urton).
Additionally, moving the start times of high schools to later on is beneficial for the economy. A macroeconomic study done by Marco Hafner et al. with the RAND Corporation reported that “it has been found delaying school start times to 8:30 a.m. would have an economic gain of $8.6 billion after two years, which would outweigh the initial cost of moving start times” (Hafner et al.). Along with a monetary gain, there would be benefits regarding public health and the economy. Since students would be getting more sleep and would be less likely to be sleep deprived, the health issues, injuries, and accidents related to inadequate sleep in teenagers would decrease. In turn, this would save the economy more money and resources, as there would be a decrease in doctor visits and medical costs. Moving high school start times not only benefits students and schools but also benefits everyone.
Some sides argue that moving high schools to later start times is not a good idea because it may interfere with after-school activities like organized sports or part-time jobs. These are good points, but it has been reported by the National Sleep Foundation: “Despite all these concerns, most districts that have changed their start time have experienced few problems with regard to athletics. Practice times are rescheduled, and in some cases, lights are installed so practice can run a little later” (‘Eight Major Obstacles to Delaying School Start Times’). Regarding potential issues with after-school jobs, the National Sleep Foundation found that “studies have shown that employers indicate a change in start times has not affected their business or the number of hours their student employees can work” (‘Eight Major Obstacles to Delaying School Start Times’). If high schools are moved to have later start times, schedules with after-school activities will need to be adjusted, but it is doable.
Changing high school start times to later on in the mornings will have positive impacts on the health of high school students, will provide a boost to their productivity levels, and will benefit the nation’s economy. Next time you hear a high schooler complaining about having to wake up early, remember the negative health impacts that waking up too early has on their health. I urge you to get involved with your local school system and help push for changes regarding high school start times. It will not only benefit high school students and teachers but you as well.