School start times have become a huge problem for adolescents today. Sleep research shows that starting school later improves student grades. This can also improve the quality of their life in many ways. Several student problems from sleep deprivation are: having a bad attitude, decreasing adolescents ability to stay alert, pay attention in class, solve problems, deal with stress and absorb information. Much research has been done to support this claim.

Current sleep research indicates that adolescents are waking up too early to go to school and this is affecting several areas of their lives. As children develop, their biological clocks, also known as circadian rhythms, begin to shift later in the night. Dr. Michael Breus, world-renown sleep specialist has an insomnia blog that states that children who once went to bed at 9:00 PM and got up at 6:00 AM, now have biological signals telling them to go to bed at 11:00 PM and wake up at 9:00 AM. With school start times at 7:45 AM or earlier, students are arriving at school at a time that would be when they would naturally be having Rapid Eye Movement sleep. R.E.M. sleep is when information is organized during sleep, such as memories, for better learning. Recent sleep research shows that when schools began in the morning, adolescents’ grades improved by a full letter grade in their first, second, and third period class, which was their main academic subjects. As seen in National Geographic’s “Sleepless In America”, we also know that reaction time gets slower when kids are sleep deprived and that leads to more student car accidents. Keeping school start times early is fighting adolescent biology.

Parents may have difficulty getting their kids to school later in the morning. First there are traffic concerns. If school starts at the same time as work, the streets will be crowded. Arriving later at school means parents will need to arrive later at work, and this can decrease their productivity. While these may be initial concerns, parents would probably enjoy later school start times, because then they could sleep more as well since adults often stay up later than their children. Parents may also like this idea, because their children would be less moody in the morning and that would lead to fewer arguments over breakfast. Changing school start times will not only help parents health by getting more sleep, but their relationships with their kids as well.

Students will adjust their lives for the better if schools start later. As stated before: research shows that in the initial part of school their grades will improve. According to the National Sleep Foundation and their studies on adolescents, with more sleep, students will have better eating habits; their research shows that a well-rested kid will eat less fat and carbohydrates, which should help with weight loss and food choice. The National Sleep Foundation also states that with more sleep depression will be reduced. Finally, with start times being later, tardy slips will be handed out, and this will reduce the burden on the administration.  Later school start times will be helpful for students physically and emotionally.

Based on the current scientific evidence, school start times should be changed to later in the morning. Both students and parents will benefit from later school start times both physically and emotionally. While there may be an initial adjustment period, it will be worth it in the end for everybody involved. Teachers will be happier because students will be in better moods, more attentive in class, and get better grades. Parents will be happier because they will have a better relationship with their children. Students will be happier because they will be awake enough to learn and get good grades. In conclusion, it’s very obvious that school should start later in the day.