According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), teenagers’ school days should not begin before 8:30 a.m. This statement is linked to various studies stating that early school start times are more likely to cause depression, car accidents and poor academic performance.

In my opinion, it is imperative that schools in all districts consider pushing back school start times, as doing so has been shown to vastly improve student health, as well as their attentiveness in the classroom. Teny M. Shapiro, an economist at Santa Clara University estimated that “A one-hour change produces the same benefit as shrinking class size by one-third or replacing a teacher in the 50th percentile of effectiveness with one in the 84th percentile.”

It is also important to note that teenagers should be getting anywhere from 8-10 hours of sleep each night, according to the AASM. However, a recent study conducted by the Center For Disease Control showed that almost 70% of high-school students report sleeping 7 hours or less on a regular basis.

In addition, early school start times force students to awaken during periods of deep sleep. This causes them to feel drained and not fully alert. When a student is not completely awake, they are incapable of safely performing everyday tasks, such as driving to school.

Aside from the safety concerns associated with early start times, one must also consider the physical repercussions. In a statement published in the journal Pediatrics, the Academy’s Adolescent Sleep Working Group reviewed the studies to date involving how inadequate sleep among teens—which means anything less than 8.5 hours to nine hours a night on school days—can contribute to health issues such as obesity, diabetes, mood changes and behavioral problems.

Before anyone says that teens are to blame for all of the problems caused staying up late, not all students have a choice. In fact, adjusting the school start time would allow more homework time for students who are involved in extracurricular activities and sports.

For teens who do not fall under either of those categories, don’t worry. Interestingly enough, it has been scientifically proven that teenager’s bodies are wired differently, causing them to stay up late and sleep in.

Still not convinced that school should start later? Repeated studies have proven that adjusting school start times allows teens to get more sleep, which causes both grades and standardized test scores to increase.

When taking all of the preceding facts into consideration, it is clear that later school start times would benefit all involved.