Why school should start later

Our school starts promptly at 8:00 am in the morning. Roanoke city schools now start at 8:45 am, and the county schools start roughly at 8:30 am. This feels very early for most, if not all of us. This does not take into account that the information being taught to us this early in the morning is important. Our lives depend on the grades we get from the information we retain from the classes we take. But do they need to start so early? We all know that sleep is important to our overall health, but did you know according to Teens and Sleep, An overview of why teens face unique sleep challenges and tips to help them sleep better, “Experts recommend that teens between the ages of 13 and 18 get 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night?” Let’s dive deeper into why sleep is so important. 

We all know as students and educators that grades and our performance in school is important, and we also know that extracurricular activities look great on our college applications and enrich our lives. So, we’ve been encouraged to do some, and then some turn into a lot, and then next thing you know you're getting home at 11:00 pm exhausted. The worst part is you still have homework, oh yeah, eating too. You need to do that. It all piles up and sleep goes on the back burner. After all, we can sleep when we’re old, after we get into our dream school. What I’m here to tell you is the more you sleep the more likely you are to get into that school. In 2022 the Columbia University Department of Physiatry did a study on “How Sleep Deprivation Impacts Mental Health.” They found that “Sleep helps maintain cognitive skills, such as attention, learning, and memory.” Therefore, if you get more sleep you will be able to pay more attention in class. More sleep will also help you retain the information you learn. Not only will it help your grades but it will also help your mental health.

The CDC statistics say that 40% of highschool students are feeling sad and hopeless. Just for context there are 25.7 million teenagers in the United States and 40% of that is 10.28 million. That’s a lot a lot of people at risk for suicide. 8% of teenagers have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder. Anxiety can affect how students learn. Sleep is directly connected with mental health. According to the same Colombia study, “Poor or insufficient sleep has been found to increase negative emotional responses to stressors and to decrease positive emotions.” This does not directly relate to school though. Well it can. Inside Higher Ed released an article in 2022 discussing student suicides and the impact grades have on their mental health. In this article it was stated that, “(…) we have strong evidence to suggest that grades are making students physically, emotionally and psychologically unwell.” Not only that but also, “the stress children, teenagers and college-age students feel about grades along with the pressure they experience from parents and teachers are directly linked to the widely reported mental health crisis in these age groups.” As a student I can confirm, whether they mean it or not, there is pressure from our family and teachers. They want the best for us and we want to make them happy. However, that could just be my opinion, so I asked Emma Votta ‘26 and she said, “Yes, definitely.” Not only do we feel it in our own school but, according to Inside Higher Ed, “88 percent said they (13- to 17-year-olds) feel either “a lot” or “some” pressure about grades.”
 
Now all of this is just statistics, just numbers. They don’t mean anything to you specifically. Right? Wrong. So I asked Headmaster Armistead Lemon and Upper School Counselor Sarah Cocowhitch about their views on mental health, sleep, and extracurriculars. 
    When I asked her how important it is for students to get the required amount of sleep, Cocowitch replied, “Sleep is not only critical for mental health, it's also critical for learning. It not only directly impacts our mood, frustration tolerance, and emotional reactivity, but it also affects our ability to focus and retain new information. So, yes, I think getting the recommended amount of sleep for teenagers should definitely be a priority!” 
So how important are extracurriculars really? “Extracurricular activities are important for many reasons: building social connections and friendships, allowing for creative or artistic expression, and having a physical outlet to move and expend energy after a long day of sitting in class.”
Is she saying we should give up our outlet for better cognitive skills? Not necessarily, “The challenge is finding the right balance and managing time well so that sleep isn't sacrificed in the process.” Are we as a student body succeeding in balancing our sleep with our sports practices or art or music classes? “Too many North Cross students are trying to ‘do it all,’ in my opinion,” Cocowitch said, “sometimes risking their health and well-being due to lack of sleep and stress.” So, no. We have not found our balance. 
All of this being said, does she think starting school later would help students finish their extracurriculars and get the recommended amount of sleep? 
“I think the research shows that later start times for high school students are a good idea in that it improves sleep, academic performance, and attendance,” the Upper School Counselor said.”But I wonder how that would work for our sports teams that have to travel at length to play away games. Would they have to miss more class time if the day runs longer? Would they just get home later and stay up later as a result?”
There are many other options that might help but none that make as much sense as starting school later.