Should School Days Be Shorter?

Have you ever wondered if school days should be shorter? Shorter days would allow us to be more successful and it would be less stressful. Some reasons school days should be shorter are that we can get more sleep and won’t be as tired during the day, we would have more free time for out of school activities, and our grades would improve.

First, we could get more sleep and won’t be tired during the day. In the article Later School Start Times the authors state, “Research shows that getting enough sleep is a biological necessity, as important to good health as eating well or exercising. Teens are among those least likely to get enough sleep; while they need on average 9 1/4 hours of sleep per night for optimal performance, health and brain development, teens average fewer than 7 hours per school night by the end of high school.” We aren’t getting enough sleep and one of the reasons is because we stay up late trying to get homework done or trying to enjoy our only free time after finishing our homework. If the school days were shorter we would have enough time to get our homework done as well as having free time during the day so we can get enough sleep at night. 

Also, we would have more free time for out of school activities. In the article Importance of free time for students the author states, “Free time gives students the opportunity to play and experiment. It gives them a break from their daily pressures and allows them to incorporate what they learned into their everyday activities. For many schools and parents, the use of free time as an educational tool is a bit counter intuitive.” Free time is very important so by shortening the day it would give us plenty of free time and we would be able to take our time on our homework without feeling rushed. We also would get more time to relax and wouldn’t be stressed out and overwhelmed and could come to school the next day with a clear mind. 

Finally, our grades would improve. In an article by Huffington Post the author states, “A shorter day would leave more time for us to enjoy our lives and not have to rush through activities or assignments. We would be able to do everything at a slower and calmer pace rather than rushing.” Most of the time what hurts our grade the most is having missing assignments. Usually when students see something is missing they rush to get it done as fast as they can. A shorter day would allow us to take our time and make sure we get our work turned in on time  and make sure we do it right without rushing through it. 

In conclusion, shorter school days would get us more rest, more time for out of school activities, and better grades. Everything about school would improve and students would find it less stressful and less boring. 

Work cited 

Sleepfoundiantion.org 

Authormorganschool.org

Smokesignalnews.net