One of the worst feelings is having to pull an all-nighter, or go to bed at a cruel hour, because of the insane amounts of homework given that day at school. Even worse is having to go back to school early the next day with a foggy and tired mind. Unfortunately, that feeling is all too relatable for a concerning number of students around the United States.

New research is revealing that early school start times can be detrimental to teen physical and mental health, inhibiting them from being more engaged at school. For this reason, some school systems are considering starting school later in the morning. On the other hand, many critics argue that starting school later in the morning time could prove to be a big challenge for underprivileged families who cannot afford to change their schedule to accommodate this change. So, should schools start at a later time in the morning?

Peng from Wikimedia Commons

U.S. News explains that as of 2017, the average high-school start time is 8 a.m, yet 10% of schools start before 7:30 a.m. This has proven to be detrimental to the body’s natural Circadian rhythm system.

This past fall, the state of California has instituted a set earliest start time for all schools to encourage getting more sleep in the morning. The effects were tremendous: grades were significantly driven up and attendance and graduation rates were far higher than before.

Back in the mid 1960’s, a 17-year-old high school student, Randy Gardner, broke sleep deprivation records in order to research what the lack of sleep does to the human body. According to NPR, for 11 consecutive, painful days, he did not allow himself to go to sleep. The effects were astonishing.

He found that although days one and two were easy enough, day three had haunting consequences. He had strong nausea and hallucinations. By the time the experiment was over, he felt a heavy sense of paranoia and discomfort.

perpetual.fostering on Wikimedia Commons

Although most of us aren’t staying up for 264 hours, it won’t take long to feel the same effects. Recent research has found that not getting enough sleep can be extremely fatal to the human mind. Although it is common knowledge that being tired can cause an irritable mood and low concern throughout the day, it less commonly realized that not having enough sleep can also have fatal impacts that slowly, but surely, lead up to death.

“Not getting enough sleep drains your mental abilities and puts your physical health at risk. Science has linked poor slumber with a number of health problems, from weight gain to a weakened immune system.” -Healthline

This all could be preventable by starting schools at a later time in the day. Although the amount of workload given by the American school system is a different debate in itself, it is clear that fully finishing these tasks with effort often take a substantial amount of time which causes students to have to stay up late into the night. If schools started later in the day, this lack of sleep can be made up in the morning time, dramatically reducing significant mental and physical risks.

“During the school week, school start times are the main reason students wake up when they do. The combination of late bedtimes and early school start times results in most adolescents not getting enough sleep.” -CDC

However, it would be unfair to discount the fact that many students, especially teens, are just distracted by their phones at night. Although many do stay awake during nighttime to complete work, others also fall prey to the alluring blue glow of smart phones.

On the other hand of the argument, starting school at later times could create problems within families. For example, due to work schedules, parents might not be able to drop their children off to school anymore. This could reduce the amount of people showing up to school, simply due to conflicts in scheduling.

There are also concerns with extracurricular activities and their timings. In addition, many families rely on the older child to take care of the younger ones after school. If times were to be changed, and middle and high schools were to be dismissed later than elementary schools, there could be difficulties. After school care for younger kids can be extremely expensive. Another point to consider is the fact that many school districts face bus driver shortages. This makes it difficult to manage the great number of students that do not have a ride home. Changing times could create scheduling conflicts for pre-existing bus drivers.

Harrison Keely from Wikimedia Commons

It is clear that changing school start times could pose as an issue for a vast range of teens around the United States. I think that, although starting schools later in the day can be initially messy for a range of families, it would eventually prove to be beneficial. I, personally have experience with simply just not getting enough sleep and feeling tired throughout the day, all because I needed to get to school at an early hour.

My school is among those that will be operating at a later time next year. Students, parents, and teachers alike are all thrilled with this change, because positive results are sure to follow. It is clear that delaying school times in the morning is the first step in a long and complicated journey for improving teen mental health.