The obnoxious buzzing of my alarm clock reminds me of three frustrating facts. One: it must be far too early in the morning; two: it must be a school day; and three: I stayed up way too late working on my stack of homework.

A normal day at FHS begins at 7:35 a.m., an uncivil time that could easily be pushed a couple hours later adding beneficial hours of sleep for both students and teachers. Sleep is necessary to living a healthy and prosperous life. More sleep equals extra attentiveness, better health, and even improved relationships. This enhancement in living would correspond directly to school life and the world outside of it. It would be ridiculous for the school not to consider allowing students a little extra sleep.



The National Sleep Foundation states that teenagers need between nine and ten hours of sleep a night. They also found that only 13 percent of teenagers are getting that amount of rest. This statistic is unfortunate, but not at all surprising. With the never ending supply of homework, late night jobs, and even a possible social life, how can students be expected to meet these sleep requirements? With the majority of students waking up between 6-6:30 a.m., getting their needed nine hours of sleep would put them in bed sometime around 9 p.m., a luxury most high school students cannot afford.

Extra sleep helps one’s memory and ability to recall facts during a test or quiz. So test scores would improve with a later start time. Studies have proven that the best way to commit something to memory is to study it, and then obtain an ample amount of rest. This increase in ability will reflect on both the student’s education and the quality of the school itself. FHS is always striving to be successful in the field of education. Why would they pass up this opportunity to appear even better?

FHS has failed me, the rest of the student body, and its faculty. Our generation continues along the path of a sleep-deprived, unhealthy society. If it is our high school’s mandate to enable us to “live productively in society”, FHS has lost the great battle between sleep and education. There is a correlation between these two; one cannot exist without the other. Balance must be found. A later school day would benefit us all, and FHS would fulfill its mission to create a better future for the student body.