In a world filled with academic pressures, extracurricular activities, social obligations, and the constant allure of screens, it’s no wonder that teenagers often find themselves struggling with sleep deprivation. In the US., the average start time for high schools is around 8:00 AM, and the grueling amount of homework forces many teens to go to sleep late and wake up early.
Samira K. ‘26, a 10th grader at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, states “I often go to school with around five to seven hours of sleep.” She explains that this is because she has dance class every night combined with the stress of homework and tests to study for. “I can definitely see the effects” she says, “doing worse on tests, dozing off in classes, and not learning to my full potential”.
Lynne Lamberg, a medical journalist, raises another issue. Deficient sleep for teenagers causes unexpected long-term consequences,, like “worse moods, slower reflexes, more likely for injuries, driving crashes, more likely to use illegal drugs, alcohol, smoking, caffeine, and have a higher suicide rate.”
Lamberg comments “changes in the brain at puberty push adolescents to stay awake until 11 PM or so”, meaning that, even if students had fewer responsibilities, teens naturally aren’t tired until 11 PM. If “teens need a minimum of 8.5 hours of sleep”, then the school industry needs to address this concern by delaying school start times.
As a student, Samira believes “school should be catered towards their students, the main goal should be to learn.” Lamberg agrees, “early school start times thwart the possibility for most adolescents of being able to do that.”
Additionally, Lamberg advises that there are warning signs for parents to detect sleep-deprived students. If they are “temperamentally challenged, if they are more quiet” they may not have received enough sleep. They also “engage more in family activity” when they are well-rested. In line with these symptoms, Samira notices that she is generally less talkative “and in class and I have a shorter temper” when she gets less sleep.
However, a common reason against delaying school start times is because it may not work for parents’ work schedules. However, Lamberg responds that “every school system that has committed itself to improving the lives of its teens has found a way” to make it work.
In conclusion, although the start time at BT is later than the average start time for schools in America, we believe that starting later will only be more beneficial to students.
