Letter to the Editor: School Days Should Start Later

Posted

Many students like me have to wake up incredibly early to be on time for school. My school starts at 7:40 a.m. 

This can cause many problems for students, such as lack of sleep and depression. There is an easy solution to this problem: start school later.

According to the University of Washington, when Seattle public schools changed their start time, students used the extra time to sleep in. The students studied got a median of 34 minutes more sleep. 

On average, they went from getting six hours and 50 minutes of sleep to seven hours and 24 minutes. Obviously, the more sleep kids get, the better.

There's many benefits to starting school later. Adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight and suffering from depression. There's actually a lot of benefits to getting enough sleep. 

According to the University of North Carolina, “Sleep plays a critical role in helping our bodies and minds recover and rejuvenate. As a result, sleep contributes to improvements in learning and promotes regulatory functions such as emotional and behavioral control that are important for each and every day.” 

Sleep is important to everyday life and right now, schools are taking that for granted.

Lots of people who argue for early start times say, “Just go to bed early.”

But, a University of Utah health article states “The reasons teens lack sleep are complex. There's homework. There's extracurricular activities. Some kids, when they are older, they have after-school jobs, and then don't forget the use of technology.” 



With all this stuff after school, lots of kids get to sleep late and wake up early. I personally don’t get to bed until after 11 p.m.

After researching for this letter, I'm actually baffled that we still start schools so early. 

With the benefits of sleep including emotional control and letting our bodies catch up, and all the negatives of not getting enough sleep — depression and higher rates of obesity — it’s obvious to me that schools need to start later.

I am a sophomore at Centralia High School. I play soccer, wrestle and work after school. Between watching my little sister and completing homework, I don’t get to bed until 11 p.m. 

Then, I wake up for school at 6 a.m. and start it all over again. 

 

Page Miles

Centralia