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   Do you have trouble waking up in the morning? If you do, it may be because you are not getting enough sleep. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has declared that the frequent sleepiness of American teenagers is a public health problem. Research shows that most students don’t get enough sleep. Eighty-seven percent of high school students in the U.S. are sleeping less than the recommended amount of 8.5 to 9.5 hours each night. However, high school seniors currently get less than 7 hours of sleep at night. 

   Part of the reason why teenagers don’t get enough sleep is because they have to wake up very early for school. In the 2011-12 school year, 43 percent of American public high schools started before 8:00 a.m. If teens aren’t getting enough sleep, can’t they just go to bed earlier? Studies suggest that teenagers' bodies delay releasing “melatonin”, a hormone that tells the body it’s time to go to sleep. This means that teens cannot always fall asleep earlier because their body isn’t releasing the right hormone. If teens cannot fall asleep earlier, the best solution may be to allow them to wake up later for school. If school starts later in the morning, the number of students who are absent may go down. It is possible that this change may even improve students' performance in school.