Sleep is a necessity for any growing teenager, but with AP classes, piles of homework, jobs, social lives, relationships, extra-curriculars, and any other outside activity or commitment, it is often difficult to balance it all. A plethora of high school students stay up as late as 3 a.m. or at worst, all night, struggling to finish assignments or projects. They then awake at 6 a.m.-7 a.m. and go to school. No wonder many teens are always falling asleep during class. It is a never ending cycle that needs to be altered in order to better the health and mental mindset of teenagers everywhere. Nationwide Children’s article states that children should be getting at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night, (9 is the goal amount) however, most teenagers only get about 6 to 7 hours of sleep.

If school started later, at around 9-9:30 a.m., teenagers would be able to perform better in their academic classes. Studies conclude that the brain does not fully function until around 10 am. This may explain why students may not do as well on exams that take place in their first period (7:40 a.m. -9:40 a.m.). The students cannot control what their brain chooses to do when sleep deprivation comes into play. The fact of the matter is that more sleep is the equivalent to better brain function. By pushing back the time at which school begins, we can possibly obtain a more accurate representation of a student’s true intelligence and their motor skills as well.

Many school officials and parents may oppose this concept however. School officials may argue that many of the students are procrastinating or focused more on other out of school activities. Parents may blame their children for procrastination and repeatedly scold their children for not getting the work done earlier.  As we all know, not all students strive to get good grades. Many in fact could care less what they get. Nearly all teenagers procrastinate, whether they mean to or not. Despite this assertion made by a variety of adults, in actuality, “92% of students truly want to get good grades” reports stageoflife.com. Schools nationwide need to recognize this percentage and realize that some are incapable of getting the grades they desire and deserve due to the early start time of high school. If high school were to commence at a later time, those 92% may achieve their goal in successfully earning and receiving good grades.

Sleep deprivation can often have numerous devastating results. WebMD illustrates the negative results: not getting enough sleep can often cause accidents which can be fatal for the driver and others involved. Fatigue causes on average 100,000 car accidents per year. Sleep deprivation can also cause the individual to decrease in performance and alertness. Getting even a half hour less of sleep can decrease your overall alertness of 32%. Not getting enough sleep may reduce your quality of life as well by causing you to require sustained attention on certain tasks that you would not normally have to focus intensely on. These occurrences would clearly impact ones learning in negative ways.

Ultimately, the decision to start high school at a later time would have an abundance of benefits for the students and for school officials across the nation. School officials and teachers could eventually get an accurate representation of the true intelligence of the student body, while at the same time educating students who are more alert and ready to soak up information in the classroom environment. Beginning high school at 9:00-9:30 a.m  would reduce the risk of teen caused accidents and fatalities as well as motivate students to get the grades they wish to possess. The current start time of high school can clearly negatively impact high school students, but the positive results that may derive from this much needed change can make everyday life more beneficial for both teenagers and the school system as a whole.