School starts too early. The first alarm rings at six am, the fifth at seven, and instead of getting up, you press snooze each time. Every weekday morning you have to force yourself to get up and get to school at 7:40 AM. Unless you’re a morning person, you’re going down for a bumpy ride.
One of the cons about school beginning too early is time management. You’d probably want to arrive to school 20-30 minutes early, so first, waking up early sounds like a good (yet impossible) idea. The night before, your mind is racing and you can do anything except go to sleep until it’s midnight. Now you only have six hours to spare for sleep because your alarm will ring at 6:00 AM. It takes you two (or more snoozes) to finally get up and now you’re worried, stressed: “how will I get to school before the first bell?” You start to wonder why you always end up going to sleep at midnight. Well, there is scientific proof for that! According to ScientificAmerican.com, biological research shows that circadian rhythms shift during the teen years, pushing students (you!) to sleep late and stay up late. Scientific evidence has piled up, all leading to the same conclusion that most students can agree with: a later start time improves learning.
A later start would come in handy because now, you have approximately an hour or less to get ready for school. One’s routine might consist of a morning shower or simply just getting up and chucking some clothes on. If you plan on styling your hair, you’re probably spending 10-15 minutes curling, straightening or gelling it to your satisfaction. Then you have to make and finish up breakfast, fix up your lunch, and stop to think, “did I forget anything?” Finally, you’re ready to leave for school…but it’s already 7:40, making you late.
So why does school have to start so early? Where are the benefits? There are a few pros to this. You won’t only be waking up early in school; for most jobs later in life, you’re required to do so. Your occasional morning shouldn’t consist of being late for work or your chances of being fired would sky rocket. Teaching yourself how to wake up early as a teen would totally help when you’re older.
Although there are benefits to waking up before the sun rises for school, being awake around 6:00 isn’t something to be excited about. Even though you force yourself to remember that in the future, your morning routine wouldn’t differ. In the end, you are still wishing that school didn’t have to start so early.
