For a long time, sleep was viewed by most people as a waste of time, something coveted by the lazy. Adults and teens alike all tried to work long into the night, facing early morning wake-up calls to get to work or school. A lack of rest and sleep was a symbol of hard work and success. In recent years, however, we have realized that the saying “we’ll sleep when we are dead” might actually be true but not the way it was intended, as a lack of sleep quite literally can kill us. Indeed, new studies have shown that sleep plays a crucial role in our overall health and well-being, and certainly not something to be minimized just because one feels extra industrious.

While the newer generations have come to appreciate the benefits of quality sleep as part of a healthy lifestyle, a good night’s sleep is not always within reach. We know from research that the onset of puberty brings about changes in biological processes that not only result in later sleep times for teens but also require them to sleep for longer hours. In addition to these changes, the majority of teenagers facing heavy workloads and long hours of extracurricular activities after school cannot make it to bed at a decent hour during the week. Having to abide by early school start times, most teens would then have to be up by 6-7 AM, if not earlier. This pattern results in a lack of sleep during the week that often cannot be remedied by sleeping in on weekends, which for many teenagers is not even a possibility as they may participate in tournaments, sports meets, or even hold jobs.

Multiple recent studies have shown delaying high school start time can significantly impact students’ overall health and academic performance. Adequate sleep aids the encoding of memories, helps with learning, and enhances the ability to pay attention. Additionally, a good night’s sleep has been shown to lower risky behavior in teenagers, lowering the rates of underage drinking, use of drugs, or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, therefore decreasing rates of vehicular accidents. What’s more, academic performance is increased significantly when students are able to sleep well, with attendance rates increasing along with GPA and standardized test scores.

All of this should be reason enough to push the school start time closer to 9 AM. We obviously cannot change biology, and it would be complicated and difficult to change societal expectations, at least in the near future. The one thing that can easily be changed, however, is the school start time. If we already know that a later start for school benefits teenagers, why are we still asking millions of teens to get up at the crack of dawn to get to school early? Sleep deprivation is not just unhealthy; it is dangerous.