Beep, Beep, Beep! You awaken to that dreadful sound. The sound that means no more dreaming or sleeping peacefully in your cushioned bed and warm blankets. As you turn over to press the snooze or off button, you see that it is still dark outside and the moon is still shining high in the sky like a big white ball.

As you lazily drag yourself out of bed you start to think about everything you need to get done today. You have a test in math, an essay to write in English, and practice after school until five. You regret staying up late to study one last time for your test, but you knew you would not have time to review this morning. Next, you start to get ready and then you leave for school. On your way out the door you glance at the clock and it is not even 7:30 yet.

Mornings like these occur every day, five days a week. You wake up, get ready, and go to school early in the morning day after day, but the question is… does waking up and starting school this early really benefit you?

According to an article from Mental Health Weekly Digest, students that go to schools with start times before 8:30 have higher depression levels compared to schools with later start times. Reporters from the Mental Health Weekly Digest also reported that schools with later start times have a higher percent of students that get at least eight hours of sleep than schools with early start times, which benefits the students’ performance at school.

In addition to increased sleep and lower rate of depression, having a later start time would allow students more time to fix a nutritious breakfast or stop somewhere to get food, which would also aide in their success at school. This would make teachers more proud of their students for doing well in class. Considering how early students have to wake up, it is evident that teachers probably have to wake up even earlier, so having a later start time would provide teachers with more time to prep for class or gather materials for future lessons.

Overall, a later start time seems like the better option with all that it has to offer, but that is up to you to decide.