With homework and extracurricular activities after school, students do not get the proper amount of sleep at night. Orchard Park High School beginning the day at 7:25am does not allow students to be fully rested and awake during school hours. This causes their learning time to be ineffective and school experience to be deficient.
“I’m always late to school or come in late because I’m so tired in the morning. Starting school even an hour later would be so helpful and much better for my sleep schedule,” said Orchard Park High School student Devi Patel.
If school started just an hour later, it would help students get a full and good night’s rest. When students are still tired from the day before and show up late to school, then they are missing out on learning. This is very common with high school students showing up late or skipping the first period to rest longer. A lot goes on after school hours. Most students don’t get the opportunity to go to sleep until later in the night. It is not fair for them to have to wake up very early in the day to repeat it all over again. Eventually it begins to burn out students.
“It is hard to wake up consistently that early in the morning. Our brains aren’t even functioning at 7am. First period is always rough for me, as I find myself being tired all the time,” said Orchard Park High School student Ava Toth.
The brain does not naturally awaken before 8am. High school students’ inability to get out of bed in the morning isn’t because of poor attitude or laziness; it is simply because of human biology. First period ends at 8:06am. This period is always difficult for students, as their bodies are still waking up and preparing for the long day ahead.
“I think school should start later because as an AP and honor student, for the past four years I have suffered endless nights of homework. There have been times when I’ve had to stay up until one or two in the morning doing homework after cheerleading practice. By having more time to sleep in in the morning, I think students that have hours of homework every night would feel more energized and ready for the day after staying up late,” said Orchard Park High School student Isabella Ziobro.
Energy is the most important aspect in learning efficiently. If students have no energy, they cannot stay focused in school and obtain information well. The loads of homework and extracurriculars cause lots of stress to students as is. They deserve a full night of sleep to recharge before the next day. Sleep deprivation is real in high school students who stay up late each night working hard to earn good grades. Lots of students are perfectionists, so they often choose doing work over sleep because they are afraid of failure. It is not fair that they have to give up sleep for this to be possible.
The school days starting early at 7:25 am is the reason for students struggling tiredly in school. This is why schools should start at least an hour later. Some people would argue this and say that it would be too difficult for school districts as they can face administrative and operational problems. They would have to change bus times due to the change in bell schedules due to the later start time. These people are not focusing on the bigger problem.
Although it would be difficult to change around the school district schedules, the health and wellness of students should be a priority. This means getting the correct amount of sleep each night. There are many more pros than cons when it comes to this concept. Starting school days later would allow students to get the most out of their days here at Orchard Park.
