By Vanessa Hernandez

“BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!” It’s 6 a.m. You’re still snoozing, but your alarm clock signals that it’s time for you to get ready for school. Forget breakfast. You’re too tired to be hungry. Forget studying. You can’t even think properly, so don’t even try. You hoist your backpack and head out the door, while your mind is still dazed in the fogginess of sleep mode.

Many students experience this sleep deprivation daily. Sophomore Ashton Cuttel understands the issue and agrees that it would be superb if we could get another hour before school.

“I think that more people would come to school and less people would skip,” Cuttel said.

By changing the school schedule, students would be able to rest more, obtain the benefits from sufficient sleep and improve academically.

There are negative effects of starting school early. A study created by Dr. Robert Vorona from the Virginia Academy of Sleep Medicine showed that early start times affected student tardiness, mood and academic performance.

Dr. Barbara Phillips, from the College of Medicine at the University Of Kentucky, talks about teenagers’ biological clocks undergoing development. She says that it’s typically hard for them to fall asleep before 11 p.m.

Two Minneapolis school districts have changed their school starting times from 7:20 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. and have noticed positive reactions from the students,  improved attendance and less reported cases of depression. Time change really changes students’ lives.

“I have to get up as early as 5:30 a.m. in the morning to catch the bus at seven,” junior Lauren Hugle said. “I can’t do it so easily if I can’t go to sleep early.”

As good as it would be for students to have more time to rest, it complicates things for everyone. Changing time schedules could create conflict with students, as well as faculty.

Assistant Principal Mark Preut noted difficulties encountered with changing school times.

“The state has a number of hours that must be met everywhere in Kansas… time changes would have great impact on co-curricular activities,” Preut said.

Even with that in mind, freshman Tamara Soukhot said change is needed.

“I could really use the extra time,” Soukhot said. “I would be able to concentrate better and not want to go to bed right after school.”

Sleep is not just a teenage want. It’s a necessity. A later start time would give students more time to prepare themselves for the upcoming school day. If we want to grow up to be successful people, we require quality rest time in order to be prepared for the future.