Have you ever wondered what it would be like if school started later in the day? Many teens wonder why school starts so early in the morning. In this article, I am going to talk about why school should start later and the pros and cons that go along with it. 

The first reason I think school should start later is students would get more sleep. Many students stay up late doing homework many nights a week. By making school start later students might be able to get more sleep in the night. Teenagers should be getting on average eight to ten hours of sleep per night. While some teens might just stay up late, other students might take advantage of the late start and get more rest. 

The next reason is improved alertness. Many students in the early mornings are not alert, it is recommended that schools should start no earlier than eight-thirty, for this reason, and many others. Students are more likely to be alert in later parts of the morning than in the earlier parts. The more students are alert the greater the possibility of them doing better on tests, and classwork. 

Another reason is reduced tardiness and attendance issues. Many teenagers are either late to school, or miss the whole school day due to lack of sleep, burnout from school, and many other reasons. If school were to start later, students wouldn’t have to fake being sick, try to come up with any excuse in the book to get that extra hour of sleep, or miss the whole day. 

The last reason is better students’ grades. By delaying the start times of school it could increase many teens’ GPAs, and it could better their overall grades in many of their classes. I know for me when I get more hours of sleep I tend to do better in my classes than when I am not as rested. Teens are more likely to be participating in classes, when they are more awake, and alert which could help improve their grades if being graded on participation. 

I know there are tons of flaws about school starting later, but I do think many schools should think about it. Some problems with school starting later would be problems with transportation, sports getting out later, and many more. But there are going to be conflicts either way if school starts earlier or later. I think schools should start later as many others do too, but it will be a long road ahead if schools start thinking about switching school hours. It could take many months or even years, but I think it would be worth it for the students throughout the nation. 

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/school-and-sleep/later-school-start-times

https://www.washington.edu/news/2018/12/12/high-school-start-times-study/