Why the school day should start an hour later
If you are anything like me, you have stayed up late studying for a test or finishing a project. It happens to the best of us at one time or another. The last thing on my mind when I am up late trying to get an A is the worry of not getting enough sleep. I can recall many nights where I worked until I was so exhausted that I couldn’t remember what it was that I was studying. If you are not a morning person, and sometimes even if you are, the morning after such nights will be a difficult one.
The solution to this problem is for USD 232 to start De Soto High School’s day at 8:50 a.m. instead of the current time of 7:50 a.m. This would ensure that students get the extra rest that they need.
A later start of the school day would mean the start time of elementary schools would have to be earlier. Although a lot of adjustments would have to be made to the bus schedule, the pros of starting DHS later greatly outweigh the cons.
According to a National Sleep Foundation poll, 87 percent of high schoolers get less than eight to nine hours of sleep, which is the recommended amount.
Providing an extra hour of sleep for students will increase academic performance according to studies. Studies have also shown that the lack of sleep increases students’ risk of depression. Lack of sleep has been shown to increase students’ risk of getting in a car accident as well.
I am aware that some students choose to stay up late, and I hope reading this article will encourage such students to go to bed earlier, but in some cases it just is not possible.
Many students take Pre-AP or AP classes, which most of the time come with a lot of homework. Students who are involved in extracurricular activities have a limited amount of time for homework, which is often left to be done late at night. These students are trying their best to do well in their advanced classes and losing sleep all the while.
If the USD 232 District changed the start time of DHS to 8:50 a.m., students would benefit greatly. Their health would improve, test scores could potentially go up, and they would be more alert during school hours.
Meet Justine Wheeler. This is Justine’s junior year and her second year on staff. Last year, she worked on the Green Pride as a staff reporter. Her favorite...