Persuasive Essay Example: Middle School Students Should Have a Later Start Time

Middle school students should have a later start time because it affects their health. Many health organizations want schools to push their start times because it can affect them emotionally and mentally.

Middle school students should have a later start time. A study has shown that schools should move start times for many teenagers because teenagers tend to sleep later in the night. The author writes “This phase delay can shift the body's internal clock pack up to two hours. As a result, the average teenager cannot fall asleep until 11:00 P.M. and would do best waking up at 8:00 A.M. or even later(sleepfoundation.org)”. Pushing their start times back means that many teenagers would be able to wake up and have a better chance to do well in school because they would perform better academically in school.

However, even if schools are able to move their start times there are many obstructions that come in their way. Those include daycare. There are many challenges the school may face if they decide to move school time; for example:daycare. The Sleepfoundation states “Childcare. Some families rely on older siblings to care for younger siblings after school; this may be more difficult if high schools dismiss later than elementary or middle school(Sleepfoundation.org)”. Relying on childcare is what many families use to fit their schedules. If school times were changed then many families would have trouble changing their schedules, and it would affect the younger children if school ended earlier than middle school and high school. 

Despite this, there are many obstructions that could come in the way, school times should be pushed forward to help the students ability to learn and concentrate in school. In the article “Start Schools Later so Kids can sleep '' the author shows it can affect the students ability to learn in school. The quote states” Experts say that when teenagers don;t get enough sleep, it affects their ability to perform well in school. That’s because sleep deprivation makes it hard to pay attention, to solve problems, and to remember information. It also puts students at greater risk of stress-related problems, and depression(AMA)”. Getting enough sleep affects students because they don’t get enough sleep and they may have trouble in school. It affects their ability to do well in school because they would have trouble concentrating and remembering things. 

Middle school and high school students deserve to have a later school start time because they tend to be able to study and focus better than those with early start times. Even though there may be many obstructions in the way, many medical institutions like the CDC, AAP, and AACM(American Academy of Sleep Medicine) support later start times because it can cause stress-related problems and depression.