If there is one thing I learned about being in high school, it’s that most students need more sleep. I can speak from experience on this topic. As I walk to and from my classes, I come across kids who drag their feet, have bags under their eyes, and seem to be in a complete daze. This is caused by lack of sleep and especially of how early we start school. This is interesting though because it has been proven time and time again that schools should start later in the day rather than earlier. “…delaying school start times by one hour, from roughly 7:30 to 8:30, increases standardized test scores by at least 2 percentile points in math and 1 percentile point in reading” according to educationnect.org. Not only does this mess up a student’s thinking but also the way they function throughout the day.

High school students, like me, are worked excessively by being given more than eight hours of homework which is more time than we are in school for! Most classes tend to have more than three hours of homework and when you have six classes that adds up to eighteen hours of hard work and study time. When I get home, I start homework right away and am left with no time to myself which can affect my health and mental state. Students do not have time to rest, eat, or socialize throughout the entire week. On top of that teachers assign hours of homework on weekends making them stressful as well. You would think that the holidays would be different, but no, it’s the same thing over and over again every year all year round. When we have so much things on our plate it’s hard to get a good night’s sleep and still have to wake up at six A.M “That indicates that the earliest healthy wake-up time for teens should not be before 7 a.m.”(Theconversation.com)

Students are required to have a full eight to ten hours of sleep in order to be completely rested and have the ability to function properly the next day. If students had the opportunity to start school at a later time this would help them pay attention in class, stay focused, and participate during class interactions. Surely you would want your students to be fully attentive and participating during school hours rather than sleeping. Teachers get irritated when students rest their heads or begin dozing off in class. They never care to think that maybe they give too much homework causing the students to be unable to get the full eight to ten hours of sleep they need. Students need their rest like any other living thing.