Teenagers, adolescents, and high school students--gener- alized with terms such as young and reckless-- maintain a habit throughout their teenage years: sleep later, wake up later. Due to

this erratic sleeping pattern, many attend- ing high school prefer to have a late-start schedule, usually beginning around the 9 am hour.

Although it is true that with an early-out schedule students have a decent amount of extra time that allows them to accomplish more throughout the day, late- start still guarantees a fresh start, with a generous amount of time at the end of the day.

Nolan Fossum said, “Our time out on early-out schedule isn’t even much of a time difference compared to our tradi- tional schedule,” for we get out at 1:30pm, just an hour and 15 minutes earlier. If school got out around 12pm, then there would be much more of an advantage along with satisfaction.

Dina Stout, a senior, said, “I’m not a very studious person in the morn- ings,” result being that the circadian rhythm---a cycle in the body that repeats every 24 hours and controls the sleep/ wake cycle---of teenagers is different than that of adults, causing them to have trouble sleeping, to go to sleep late, and to be excessively tired in the mornings.

Multiple studies support the benefits that students receive from late- start, which include an increase in scores, a decrease in tardies, and an improvement in learning/attention skills.

“I need my nine hours of sleep and that seems impossible during the week because i have to wake up early for school,” says Sammi Conley, freshman.

To do better on tests and enhance a their learning capability in the mornings, teenagers need about 9 hours of sleep. The inconsistency of their sleeping pattern, otherwise, will deprive them of needed rest.

Professor Avi Sadeh, a clinical psychologist, claims, “A good student may actually benefit more from an extra hour of sleep than an extra hour of study,” emphasizing the importance of sleep in a teenagers life.

A couple extra hours of sleep is always appreciated and never a molesta-

tion.

“Change is always scaring people,” expresses Brian Devaney.

That is why SJHHS should take a stand in introducing a late-start schedule to obtain a new and improved environ- ment.