Students may be at risk because of the school’s schedule. Teenagers generally need 9 or more hours of sleep at night, but often do not get enough. This can be due to the excessive amount of homework that many teachers tend to give. Also, teens brains don’t release melatonin – a chemical that your brain releases to help you sleep – until about 1am. They have done studies to show that in comparison, most adults’ brains release it at about 10pm. However, most students get around 7 or less hours of sleep per night. This has caused 87% of American high school students to be found sleep deprived as of 2006. A  lack of sleep can also cause students to break down, and have a hard time handling stress throughout the day, which can be harmful to your mental health. Also, many students find it hard to sleep with all the stress that they are under to achieve good academic scores, maintain a good social life, and keep up with family responsibilities.  This can also take up much of there time throughout the day, not leaving them much time for homework. Schools encourage after school activities, but this often takes away from a students’ sleep time as they still may need to do chores when they get home, spend time with their friends, and complete their homework and studying for their classes.

Also, most schools start at about 7:30 AM, and a teenagers’ brain doesn’t even reach its maximum capacity until around 10 AM. This will make it hard for students to focus in class, which can also take a toll on their grades, and CPA. In this case, schools should not start until at least around 9 AM, to allow for them to get more sleep. Also, this would delay school ending until around 3:40, which may allow for parents to pick them up, as many of them are not off of work until 2:00 or 3:00 PM. This would also allow for students to sleep in later, therefore allowing them to get more sleep. Teenagers also need more sleep to feel awake, so if they are sleep deprived it will feel as though they have only gotten a few hours of sleep, even if they got around 7. If you are having trouble sleeping at night, you can also take melatonin as a pill to help you sleep, however the side effects can include headaches, short-term feelings of depression, daytime sleepiness, dizziness, stomach cramps, and irritability. So, schools should start later to allow for students to have better health, sleep schedule, and mental capacity for the following school days.