Shift school start time

Eugene Choe, Grade 11

Dear Editor,
If you look around the school, hundreds of groggy teenagers trudge through the halls, resigning themselves to another day fighting their bodies to get to class on time. The solution for sleep deprivation is simple: push back school times to allow students to get more sleep.
Although this may seem like an unreasonable excuse from a kid who wants to avoid school, sleep deprivation is a serious health concern. In addition to more feelings of depression, sleep-deprived adults and students are at higher risks for heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer. Drowsy driving is also a major cause of pre-mature death in teens, causing over 100,000 crashes each year.
Later start times allow for healthier sleep, which support processes vital to learning, memory and emotion regulation. This results in better academic performance, improved attendance, fewer absences and better behavior, changes many students and teachers would welcome.
In order to ensure the health and continued academic success of the students here, the school system needs to make later school start times happen. It’s not just a negotiable school budget item—it’s an absolute requirement.