The Case for Later School Start Times

The Case for Later School Start Times

Why starting school later is healthier for our teens.

By Robin M. Lloyd, MD

By helping the next generation maximize their potential, decrease risk-taking behaviors, improve driver safety and improve quality of life, adjusting school start times can have a positive effect on an entire society. I became interested in later school start times when I realized what a positive impact a change like this could have on our society.

The majority of press on the topic of pushing school start times later involves adolescents. Current research on early school start times shows that there is a correlation with insufficient sleep opportunity resulting in chronic sleep deprivation. There are biological and lifestyle issues that are at the root of the issue. Biologically, there is a natural delay in sleep phase during adolescence. Additionally, the process S, or homeostatic sleep drive, is slower to accumulate so the natural sleep onset for teens is usually around 11pm on average. Lifestyle factors related to technology use, homework demands, extracurricular activities such as sports and clubs, work, social activities, etc. also impact the amount of sleep a teen is able to get.

If left unchecked, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to a level of sleepiness consistent with sleep disorders such as narcolepsy. A National Sleep Foundation poll found that almost 90% of high school students were getting less than the recommended amount of sleep, with high school seniors typically getting less than 7 hours of sleep on school nights. Sleep experts agree that adolescents aged 12-18 years should be sleeping 8 to 10 hours.

INSUFFICIENT SLEEP HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH:

• Lower academic performance

• Higher absentee and tardiness rates

• Mood difficulties

• Inattention

• Memory impairments

• Decreased quality of life

• Drowsy driving crashes

• Abuse of stimulants

• Increased long-term cardiometabolic risks

• Obesity

Later school start times have proven to promote healthier lifestyles for teens since they facilitate sufficient sleep opportunity. By pushing school start time later, teens are able to stay awake until their body clock tells them it’s time for sleep. Having sufficient time for sleep often positively impacts the quality of sleep, as well as quantity, which improves physical health with reduced obesity risk and long-term cardiometabolic impacts. There is also improvement in mental health with lower rates of mood disorders, safety with decreased drowsy driving crashes, academic performance and overall quality of life.

In my opinion, later school start times for middle and high school students is an obvious choice. While it is important for parents and students to mediate lifestyle issues that facilitate good sleep practices regardless, later school start times promote sufficient sleep opportunity by accommodating for the biologic changes in sleep that occur with adolescence. Insufficient sleep is a significant public health issue with serious impacts on health and well-being in our adolescents. By advocating for the next generations, we benefit society as a whole.

Robin M. Lloyd, MD works at the Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine has been working in the field of Sleep Medicine about 13 years.