An understandable counter argument is if students start later wont this mean that they will end later as well? How does this effect parents and guardians schedule? While this argument is valid and accurate, we should not be forgetting whats important here: the health of our students.  

My interviewee was Belle Reyes, Curie Highschool Junior, Female, Age 17. What made her a credible source is that she herself sometimes stays up late because of the fact that our bodies as teenagers are biologically prone to falling asleep later. One memorable quote she shared was that she often feels that staying up later is easier than going to sleep earlier. 

In more than half the population of the United States almost the majority wakes up to greet the leaving moon before the morning sun rises. With young adults and teens being a big part of the population, it is interesting to wonder how this sort of schedule affects their growing minds. Studies have shown, the brain does not fully develop till the middle of  adulthood at around 25 years. For the brain to reach its full potential it needs sleep especially in these crucial teenage years to improve its development. Schools should start school later to better benefit student’s physical health and mental health. As well as listening to the opinions of their students. 

As the mind grows, sleep is one of the most prominent factors in good physical health for teenagers and young adults. Students' physical health is affected by lack of sleep therefore a later start time would help the adolescent body grow. Without the sufficient amount of sleep, students' physical bodies are very much subject to drastic changes. “One factor is delayed timing of nocturnal melatonin secretion across adolescence that parallels a shift in circadian phase preference from more “morning” type to more “evening” type, which consequently results in difficulty falling asleep at an earlier bedtime” (Au, Rhoda, et al. 2014). Without a doubt, less hours of sleep are shown to be biologically altering the body because of how teenage body’s are not fully developed and are still in a process where they need to prioritize the growth of the 

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brain. Adding onto the first factor we learn there is also another factor causing the brain to create a different response. 

 “...an altered “sleep drive” across adolescence, in which the pressure to fall asleep accumulates more slowly, as demonstrated by the adolescent brain’s response to sleep loss and by a longer time to fall asleep after being awake for 14.5 to 18.5 hours in postpubertal versus prepubertal teenagers” (Au, Rhoda, et al. 2014).

Furthermore the post puberty brain is the sole reason as to why the body responds the way it needs to when it has been deprived of the sleep the brain needs.

Not only is physical health important but the students’ mental health is of the same importance. The mind is a very powerful and complex part of the human body. Lack of sleep affects every student due to a powerful role sleep plays to keep students motivated and dedicated throughout their school day, as well as for any after school activities and homework they need to complete that night. According to an article from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine: “Insufficient sleep among adolescents may not only contribute to lower grades and a lack of motivation, but may also increase the odds of serious levels of emotional and behavioral disturbances, including ADHD…”(Kingshott, 2020). Students with low levels of sleep can be prone to poor grades as well as a significant impact on their mind. With higher levels of stress created by sleep it can damage a students’ mental health increasingly. Many students’ seek validation from their grades, hence their reason to try and better their grades for that validation. But without sleep they are exposed to feeling vulnerable due to their low confidence in their school work. Although it has been around 4 years since the pandemic hit, the world, especially 

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children and teenagers, are still recovering from the drastic change in their education. School days were one moment like any other day to the sudden change of Google meets and being in front of screens for 7 hours straight. Although things did change around the 2021-2022 school year allowing students to return back to school, with masks required this still doesn't mean the mental health of these students have gone back to the way they were. During the peak pandemic school year many older students were not worried about their sleeping schedules. Their routine consisted of staying up late and rolling out of bed 5 minutes before their first class started to turn on their device and join a Google meet or Zoom call. This piece of research brief, “Sleep Duration, Mental Health, and Increased Difficulty Doing Schoolwork Among High School Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic”  was posted by the CDC in their collection of Sleep Deprivation, Sleep Disorders and Chronic Disease collection.

 “Most high school students were not sleeping enough during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was correlated with poor mental health. Students who experienced short sleep duration were more likely to report greater difficulty doing schoolwork during the pandemic than before the pandemic” (Silwa et al. Volume 20 2023). 

Evidently, students had less of a set scheduled routine, they were more able to stay up later and sleep less resulting in lack of motivation towards their classes. 

In addition to a students’ physical health and mental health, it must also take into consideration the opinions and hear the voices of students’ experiences now due to the fact that the world is no longer in the pandemic period of its life. Since lives are starting back into a more usual routine, the problem of sleep deprivation is still staying consistent with students.

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 “In 2022, California became the first in the nation to mandate a school start time of no earlier than 8:30 a.m. for high schools, no earlier than 8 a.m. for middle schools. The mandate, which was approved in 2019, took effect at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year” (Sommer 2023).

California mandating a law of prioritizing the health of students rather than the convenience of schedule is an exact example of how students’, parents’, guardians’ voices are being heard.

But to be even more specific, a small survey was conducted and shared among a variety of students at Curie High School featuring students in different programs such as IB students, General Education and Ap/Honors classes students. With only 50 respondents, 35 responded with yes that school should prioritize student health with the sacrifice of their early start time, while the other 15 voted no. For the 15 responders that said no all had one common argument, that getting out later would not be ideal. 

Continuing to the counter argument that is compiled of the setbacks and the disadvantages to after school activities such as sports, clubs after school work programs. Much would need to be changed throughout the school day to cater to the needs of every student. Back when the Californa bill for mandating that school started no earlier than 8am for middle schools and no earlier than 8:30 a.m. for highschoolers, there were many opposers such as the CTA. Which is the California Teachers Association, during this time they stated: 

 “When the bill was being debated in 2019, CTA called attention to the challenges facing low-income families with less workplace flexibility. ‘We know from experience that many of these parents will drop their children off at school at the same time they do now, 

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regardless of whether there is supervision, and there is not enough funding from the state for before school programs to ensure the safety of students who will be dropped off early’ CTA spokeswoman Claudia Briggs told the Los Angeles Times” (Walker 2022).

To fairly respect both sides of the argument, there must be an understanding and safe space for the opposing side as well. Although the students’ health must be ranked to a level of importance there should be the same amount of that importance given to the parents and teachers of the students. Teachers' voices must be heard and parents/ guardians need also a say. 

Given these points and information towards this topic, the statement remains clear: schools should prioritize the health of their students by sacrificing students’ early start time. Although there are limitations and drawbacks to this point such as scheduling conflicts and voices of concern from teachers and parents, there should be a study based on how we can solve the issue and drawback at hand.  

Works Cited 

Au, Rhoda, et al. “School Start Times for Adolescents.” American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Sept. 2014, publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/134/3/642/74175/School-Start-Times-for-Adolescents?autologincheck=redirected. 

Kingshott, Ruth. “GPA & Emotional Effects of Sleep Deprivation on High School Students.” American Academy of Sleep Medicine – Association for Sleep Clinicians and Researchers, 27 Jan. 2020, aasm.org/poor-sleep-can-negatively-affect-a-students-grades-increase-the-odds-of-emotional-and-behavioral-disturbance/. 

“Sleep Duration, Mental Health, and Increased Difficulty Doing Schoolwork among High School Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 July 2023, www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2023/22_0344.htm. 

“What We Think about School Start Times.” Sleep Foundation, 25 July 2023, www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/later-school-start-times-what-do-we-think#references-220950.

Walker, Tim. “Later School Start Times More Popular, but What Are the Drawbacks?” NEA, 1 Dec. 2022, www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/later-school-start-times-more-popular-what-are-drawbacks.