School is a 7-8 hour day full of education, friends, and drama that almost every student has to deal with constantly. Teachers pile on work at school plus there is work to do at home. Adding on to these circumstances, students go to bed late while having to wake up early. The consequences of what was listed above may cause a student to fall behind in class and become less motivated to get work done.
With schools starting later in the day, attendance rates for students will spike dramatically. Study found that later start times will correspond with improved attendance. Students with better attendance are more likely to boost their academic performance and increase their likelihood of graduating in high school by 2.5 times. Later start times are not only beneficial for student attendance rates, but teachers will also be affected by this change in schedule. According to neaToday, teachers would most likely come to school feeling more refreshed and ready to take on the full day ahead of them. Later start times are not only beneficial to students, but teachers as well.
Something that is less commonly taken into consideration is traffic and motor accidents that occur because of tired teenagers and adults. Scientists found that schools that did change their start time discovered that traffic causing car accidents decreased by 16.5% in just two years, whereas accidents at schools that had the typical start time increased by 7.8% over the same period of time. The outcome of students waking up later and being less tired could results in less morning accidents and prevent injuries.
A student’s mental health is also known to improve when school starts later. With teens having more time in the morning to get ready and prepare for school, it causes less stress and anxiety to them knowing they can take their time in whatever task that needs to be completed. An effect of schools starting later is students being able to get more sleep. Students have more time to sleep in and relax before having to deal with school. Study found that getting more sleep regulates emotions and decreases depression rates by about 24%. Later school start times are a must for students who battle controlling their emotions.
School start times are very important for students and adults. It may not seem like it but, start times affect many different aspects in a students life. All of which are different in their own way, but still strong affect a person and their relationship with school.
