"School Start Times: A Wake-Up Call" by Kristen Luise stood out to me in the February issue as a well-developed and rather honest piece that portrayed the consequences of students' sleep deprivation and put the blame on early school hours. I must commend Kristen on her brilliantly-organized and excellently researched article. The issue is not commonly discussed here on Teen Ink, but the consequences affect us as greatly as any other troubles; when even a much-needed extra hour of sleep is traded off, lower grades, depression, fatigue, and a dangerously less alert state of being are usually the things that come in return.

The objective of Kristen's article was ultimately to bring awareness to the issue at hand and prove that starting the school day earlier than 8 o'clock has many negative effects. This is where I must disagree; issues regarding health and academics cannot be blamed in such a way solely on lack of sleep in the morning. It must not be forgotten that the day's sleep begins, for the most part, at night. I personally believe that the lateness of the hour at which many teens go to bed affects their state of fatigue the following day just as much as rising hours do. In this case, large amounts of schoolwork piled on top of the day's extracurricular activities, as well as unnecessary time spent in front of the television or computer can be the cause of alterations in the health of teens. If an earlier curfew is instilled, the morning hour missed because of school will be made up for.

I do completely agree with the scientific fact that Kristen used to support the idea that early school times cause health issues. Still, in my opinion, an easier solution to prevent issues from arising would be to go to bed earlier at night.