School Start TimeAt least 1/3 of all Americans experience symptoms of insomnia (1); and the figures therefore include a large number of adolescents. According to the author of “Stop Starting School So Early,” the cause of lack of sleep in adolescents is starting school at age 8 or earlier. Ann Horton, the author, states that it is more difficult for adolescents to fall asleep before age 11 due to puberty (4). Research from the classroom perspective shows that this is not necessarily true. Lack of sleep doesn't come from puberty. Sleep cycles could be attributed to lack of sleep among Americans. Teenagers begin to prioritize activities, social media, and electronics over sleep. The thing to know is that starting school earlier won't change the number of hours teens choose to sleep. Preventing sleep deprivation could be an advantage if starting school a few days later. Sleep deprivation should be aimed more at young people in general. Sleep deprivation can become chronic and cause several horrible side effects; including heart attacks, cardiac arrest, stroke, obesity, and depression (1). Lack of sleep for a few days is also dangerous; This can increase your risk of automobile injury as your alertness becomes impaired (1). Many researchers agree that sleep deprivation can act like alcohol in your system, altering your neurological state (1). If starting school later prevented sleep deprivation among adolescents, it would save many lives. Getting the right amount of sleep at night; generally agreed for a duration of 9 to 9 and a half hours; can increase your learning abilities, reduce obesity, manage stress and make better decisions, such as avoiding medicinal substances(1). If teenagers could get enough sleep, they could have a better outlook on life, improve their academic performance, and...... middle of paper ...... become so addicted to their phones that they would need to 'send SMS. throughout their night, making them unable to sleep (3). The cause of lack of sleep is not the start of school but rather the electronic devices of most teenagers. The cause of lack of sleep does not come from early school start times; the problem lies with electronics and teenagers organizing their lives. Instead of changing school schedules, teens should be taught when their phones, televisions and computers should be turned off. Sleep deprivation is extremely dangerous, but unfortunately, changing the school start time will not prevent this; changing the start time will only cause more problems. Rather, adolescents must learn to prioritize their lives with the freedom they have been given. Finally, teens need to be educated about the dangers of lack of sleep and that texting can wait until morning..