By: Stella Harrison 5/13/26
Every single Wednesday, Edgewood schools start an hour later. On Wednesday, school seems so much better, and you feel more rested. But would school be even better if we started like that every day? Studies show that it's better to start school later because it helps improve physical and mental health, improves overall academic success, and provides better sleep schedules.
Most teens don’t get enough sleep as it is, and they often stay up late scrolling, playing video games, doing homework, or practicing their sports. So when school starts at 7:30, it doesn’t work in their favor. Healthcare.utah.edu (The University of Utah Health) states, “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that middle and high schools delay the start of classes till 8:30 a.m. or later.” They mention how starting classes after 8:30 will help align sleep schedules because at the start of puberty, teens' sleep schedules shift 2 hours. So, knowing that teens' sleep schedules shift a lot, it's important to start classes later to let teens get the right amount of sleep to function properly. Also, when you're running on 5-6 hours of sleep, you're almost guaranteed not to function as well, and that’s important for your schoolwork. If you're expected to put 110% in school work and activities, how can you do that knowing you only have 50% of your energy?
During the last quarter of school, students have to take state testing- I-LEARN, but during this time, teachers send emails to students and parents. The emails just say that we have state testing to eat a good breakfast, etc. But also, they state that they need to get good amounts of sleep. It’s not a coincidence. It has been proven that when you sleep well, you will improve academically. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) conducted a research study to see if sleep improved grades. Stanford Lifestyle Medicine has the results, and its website states, “The prominent findings of the study were that better quality, longer duration, and greater consistency of sleep correlated with better grades.” In fact, they found that nearly 25% of the variance in academic performance was attributed to sleep.” So studies show that sleep can improve grades, especially here at Edgewood. Most school sports count on you for good grades to be able to play in games. If your grades suffer from sleep deprivation, so will your team
In middle school, especially, mental health is a problem. America's mental health is the worst that it has ever been. Schools try to help students overcome mental blocks, battles, and rough patches by giving students resources, such as counselors. But what if all they needed was more sleep? More sleep is known to improve mental health because it reduces stress. Students who get more sleep are statistically known to be under less stress. But not only mental health, but also physical health. More sleep is known to help with health problems. When you get more sleep, it reduces the risk of you getting sick. This will allow people to be able to come to school more.
So, overall, it’s clear that Edgewood needs to start later. Not only for the well-being of students but also for the benefit of teachers. School starting later helps improve overall mental and physical health, forms better sleep schedules, and improves grades. The 2026-2027 school year is the perfect time to test it out.