Have you ever wondered why you seem so tired day after day? Maybe it has something to do with the time that you wake up to get ready for school. It turns out that school start times are way too early for us to focus and be alert, and it could have some major consequences. Not only does waking up so early damage our health, restrict our ability to learn, and counter the capability to make good decisions, but it also impacts the lives of the people we know and love negatively.
If teens don’t get enough sleep, it could cause major health issues. The National Sleep Foundation says that on average, people under the age of eighteen are supposed to get around 8.5 to 9.25 hours of sleep but, with school starting so early, 2 out of every 3 students get less than seven hours of sleep. The Academy of American Pediatrics recommends that school should start at at least 8:30 in the morning. When compared to the average high school start time in NC, which is 7:10, doctors would find this very unhealthy. Many diseases are …show more content…
Teens that do not get enough sleep are much more likely to participate in violent crimes as well as property crimes than teens with good amounts of sleep. Also, when teens get insufficient sleep, they are more likely to smoke, become alcoholics, do drugs, and get into fights at school, which has caused many students to become criminals in the future. If you do not get enough sleep each night, you could suffer from drowsy driving, which is extremely dangerous, and could lead to many deaths due to car crashes. In Wyoming, when Jackson Hole High School shifted its start time almost to 9:00 a.m., the car crashes involving teenage drivers dropped by an astonishing 70%. Later school times allow you to get the sleep that you need to make good decisions, not only for you, but also for