Last Updated on March 10, 2021 by Filip Poutintsev
Most parents find that their children aren’t able to wake up early thinking them to be lazy. But that isn’t always true since countless studies have shown that teens require at least about 9 hours of sleep each day for boosting their metabolism and maintaining their good health.
Teens with the early school are forced to wake up before they complete their recommended sleep cycle resulting in sleep depletion. Thus, teenagers undergo countless changes because of their sleep depletion and also might degrade their academic performance
Starting School Late. Is it a Need?
School activities aren’t only limited within the school and students are also required to do their homework and or some projects after school for which they need enough energy. Without enough sleep, students can’t go through the day and develop a habit of caffeine dependency.
Such a habit, if allowed to grow, might eventually turn into tobacco or alcohol dependency. Students can be saved from these negative impacts if they are allowed to complete their required sleep time, which as some might feel can’t be possible only by trying to sleep early.
With the delay of at least 1 hour of starting the school, students might just get enough time to complete their sleep and stay fresh throughout the day. But, that being said, late school timings aren’t always desirable and or possible due to some complications, and administrators must carefully consider the following pros and cons before making any change to the school timing.
Pros of Starting Schools Late
Shifting the start time of the school back can result in students receiving the following benefits:
1. Limits Caffeine Addiction
Delayed school start times allow students to complete their needed sleep cycle and remain active and fresh throughout the day allowing them to perform all the necessary school and household activities easily without any aid of caffeine products like coffee, thus reducing the chance of students getting addicted.
2. Decreases the Chance of Health Problems
As mentioned above, if students are able to complete their sleep cycle, the chance of being sleep depleted drops to minimal which then causes the decrement of any health problem due to sleep depletion such as irritability, clumsiness, etc. in those teenagers. It also reduces the likelihood of sleeping pills usage.
3. Enhances Academic Enactment
Academic enactment is greatly influenced by one’s ability to focus on the issues and concentrate during the class, which isn’t possible until unless they have completed their 8 to 9 hours of sleep. Late school periods grant students that opportunity.
4. Low Risk of Accidents
Vehicle crashes among teenagers occur due to several factors whereas, drowsiness can be considered as one of the major influences in such crashes as teenagers with sleep depletion tend to have difficulty in focusing on the road, and have delayed reaction time. Thus, with the late start of the school, students might just get enough time necessary to complete their sleep.
5. Shortens Mood Fluctuation
It is often believed that teens with moody attitudes are suffering from depression or some sort of emotional disability, which isn’t always true as several studies have proven that lack of sleep also results in the symptoms of such emotional disability such as mood fluctuation, anxiety, etc. That sleepiness can be solved in students by adjusting their school start times. It can give more time to start with a calming meditation in the morning before going to school.
Cons of Starting Schools Late
Regardless of the pros, consideration of delaying the school start times should only be taken seriously after understanding the below-described demerits brought forth by them:
1. Interrupts Parent’s Work Schedule
Houses where parents usually work 9 to 5 will have to experience disruptions in their schedules if the school start times of their children shift to later. Parents won’t be able to see off their children and in case of students with no bus service, the mismatch of the timing can cause some trouble getting to and from the school.
2. Limits Tutoring Prospects
Many parents aren’t equipped with enough time after their office hours to help their children with their studies and want to put their children in some tuition classes. But with a delay in the start of school hours, the end will also eventually shift backwards, thus limiting the time for students to conduct theirs after school activities along with tuition classes.
3. Develops Habit of Staying up Late
Some students might think of the delay in the school starting time to be an excuse for staying up late at night either watching television or studying, which might eventually lead to the development of a habit in those students to stay up late at night.
4. Disrupts After School Activities
As mentioned above, with the shifting of the school start hours, the end hours too gets shifted and thus might just result in limited time after school before dawn. Thus, students involved in extra-curricular activities or sports find the timing to be very inconvenient.
5. Transport Problems
Most elementary schools adjust their start time to be around 9 am to facilitate the young ones completing their sleep before school as well as to limit traffic jams in the area. But with the shifting start times at many high schools, there will be a marked increase in traffic congestion within that area.
Conclusion
Summarizing, a late start to school can result in advantageous outcomes considering the health benefits it grants teens and the potential for a more effective approach to education. With a delay in the start time, students can eat properly before they attend school, which will give them enough strength to go through the day. Coupled with a healthy diet and lifestyle, we can contribute to healthier future generations.
However, starting school late can result in disrupting the schedule and lessening the time it takes for students to undergo any after school activities such as sports. The delayed start time might also hamper the studies of some students, as they aren’t equipped with enough time to study at their homes after completing their homework.
Thus, when considering what to accept and what to cast off, the decision to delay the school start hours could well have been simplified for you after understanding the pros and cons of the decision to delay the start of school hours.
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