<p>I know this is an old thread but I can’t resist adding my two cents, mainly because I am frustrated with seeing comments about how it was back in the day and how lazy kids today are. As cliche as it sounds, times have changed. It is not reasonable to act like the way things were 50 years ago is equivalent to how it is today. The demands placed on students in high school are far different. You need several AP classes, a few extracurricular activities, volunteer hours, and preferably a sport or two on your college application to look competitive. And you are reminded of this every day at many public schools. Factor in a part-time job if your family is less well-off, at least a couple hours of homework (or more if you are taking advanced classes), whatever chores your parents have asked you to complete, and social interaction (even if this just means having dinner with the family instead of in front of an open history book), and you realize what the real problem is.</p>
<p>The real problem is the ridiculous amount of things teenagers are expected to participate in along with the ridiculous amount of pressure to get into a “good college”. Before you talk about social networks and laziness, stop. It is true that some teenagers have issues with this but even the teenagers who are really trying (such as myself) and spend every waking hour trying to get everything done, still don’t get it done, and still don’t get enough sleep. I know many students who wish they could exercise but school and work demands mean they often have to choose between that and sleep. Sleep always wins, but they still don’t get enough. </p>
<p>It is true that the idea that a later school start time is good for teenagers does NOT mean more hours in the day. It is likely that many teenagers will still be sleep-deprived just because of the time required of them for school, sports, work, and clubs. Personally, I am usually too exhausted from everything else to even check my social network most days, but I realize some kids would probably still stay up late checking their Twitter feed.</p>
<p>However, what the advocates for later start time are saying is that starting school later will make BETTER USE OF THE LIMITED TIME TEENAGERS HAVE. It is saying that maybe, if school started at 8:30 instead of 7:15, more students would be aware of the things taught in their first block instead of sitting there in a daze and having to spend a precious hour after school doing damage control, trying to understand the material they failed to grasp in class as a result of being overly sleepy. It is saying that teenagers might, with a later start time, have reduced risk of getting into a car crash since they are not working against their internal body clock to stay alert while driving to school. It is saying that maybe, if students did not have to get up until around 7:30, they would be more energetic while getting ready for the day and would not take quite as long getting ready in the morning. </p>
<p>I know this is long but I really feel like a lot of people are missing this extremely valid side of the issue. A later start time would make biological sense and would help teenagers use the limited time they have more effectively.</p>
<p><a href=“From Zzzz's To A's - Adolescents And Sleep | Inside The Teenage Brain | FRONTLINE | PBS”>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/from/sleep.html</a>
<a href=“Teens Should Start School Later, Says Pediatric Group | Time”>http://time.com/3162265/school-should-start-later-so-teens-can-sleep-urge-doctors/</a></p>