By Nolan Brand

What do teenagers need in order to succeed in school? Concerned parents. Proper nutrition. And of course, a necessity that’s often overlooked: sufficient sleep time.

I propose that the Mount Vernon Community School District has a late start every Monday throughout the school year. A 10:15 start time would decrease the stress and anxiety a Monday morning brings. It would also help students start the week fresh, allowing for more sleep, and leading to more productivity that carries through the week.

Eight to 10 hours of sleep per night is recommended for high school students. Every second of sleep is essential for adolescent brain development, growth, and ends up improving all-around quality of life. In fact children and teenagers who do not get enough sleep have a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, injuries, and even problems with attention and behavior.

Another problem is Mondays. Waking up on Monday morning for students is often the worst way to start school week, after having a productive weekend full of family time, and studying for upcoming tests or quizzes.

Obviously, we can’t just take two hours out of every week and still meet the state’s minimum of 1080 hours of instruction a year. So I think we should swap the Monday late starts with the Wednesday early outs. For athletes, the early out on Wednesday doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. If you are involved in the current sport and then let out at 1:30 you’re expected to be back at school by about 3:15, leaving very little productivity time in the middle. The Monday delays would also give teachers time to get any last minute lesson plans done.

In fact, a study done by Oxford University, Harvard University, and University of Nevada scientists concluded that 16-year-old students should be starting school no earlier than 10 a.m. The group of scientists recently wrote, by studying the effects of changing sleep patterns with areas like health, learning, and memory. Although some schools are switching over to the 10 a.m start time every day, I don’t believe it’s realistic at the moment to switch over. But Mondays are a good way to start that will lead to an increase in student awareness and productivity.