Should school start later?

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Should school start later? Photo courtesy of clipart.co.

Iaya Bacot, Assistant Photo Editor

Many of students feel that they would perform better if school started later. Their reasoning is that, the lack of sleep, makes them perform poorly in class resulting in behavioral issues and grade deficiencies. Studies show that only eight percent of high school students get a sufficient amount of sleep on a regular school night. The other ninety two percent either have moderate to severe sleep deficiencies. It is proven that females have more sleep deficiencies   than males. By changing the school start time, there would be an increase in academic performance along with an increase in the number of students that graduate. Along with that, because lack of sleep causes serious medical problems in students, if school started school later, there would be a significant decrease in medical and emotional problems.

Not having enough sleep really harms a student’s state of mind. Along with school, some students have other extracurricular activities and jobs that they have to report to after school. Add seven hours of school plus six hours of work plus two to three hours’ worth of homework and there’s barely time for basic hygienic purposes. If a student only gets four to six hours of sleep, they will be exhausted by the time they get off work. Sleeping longer gives students the opportunity to relax before coming to school and be very well rested. It is easy to say adolescents don’t manage their time properly, but that is not always the case. Even with well managed time, students will still have a hard time getting the recommended eight to ten hours of sleep. All in all, school should start later to benefit students’ academically and medically.