Teenagers are some of the most sleep-deprived people in the U.S. On average, teens don’t get enough sleep and, more importantly, don’t get enough quality sleep, researchers say. We could blame cell phones and other light-emitting technologies for keeping kids up at night, but late nights are only part of the equation. In addition to technology, a fairly indisputable factor that contributes to this collective dream is school start times .
For decades, researchers have accumulated evidence showing that delaying the first bell of middle and high school would benefit older children’s physical, mental and emotional health, not to mention their academic performance. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with several medical societies, have supported later start times. Some school districts, as well as the state of California, have already shown respect for that evidence with new start times.
However, too many school districts are reluctant to make the change, whether for logistical, financial or cultural reasons. This is unfair to teenagers. A generation of students is catching up with COVID and we must prioritize their health and well-being by delaying the start of the school day. Honoring their biological and social needs will create more resilient adults who can thrive in a world full of current and future complexities that we cannot begin to predict.
Teenagers need about nine hours of sleep a night, but closer to seven.
And around puberty, their circadian clocks shift by a couple of hours, meaning they get tired later in the night than before and wake up later in the morning than before . This change is reversed in adulthood . The biological nature of this daily rhythm means that sending a teenager to bed earlier does not necessarily mean she will fall asleep sooner.
Experts tell us that teens are missing out on both restorative sleep and REM sleep, especially the cycles that typically occur right before a person wakes up. Restful sleep helps repair the body after a hard day and can improve immune function and other biological processes. REM sleep solidifies events and learning into memories. So when a 10th grader who naturally goes to bed around 11 pm has to wake up at 6 am to go to school, she not only loses hours of sleep, but also hours of quality sleep. And even if they sleep in on the weekends, they won’t catch up completely.
These children tell us that they need more sleep. In survey after survey, they say that when school starts later, they are not as tired all day, they tend to get to school on time, and they are less likely to have to be scolded to get out of bed. They tell us that as their sleep time decreases, their use of tobacco and drugs increases, including drugs that might help them stay awake. They tell us that sleeping one hour less a day makes them feel hopeless and sometimes suicidal . Research has shown that the risk of suicide in children increases during the school year and lack of sleep could be a contributing factor. Other studies show that sleeping one hour less a day is associated with weight gain . Researchers have told us that sleepy teens are more prone to car accidents and that even an extra 30 minutes of sleep would help alleviate some mental health problems . Even teachers have reported that with later start times, their students are more engaged in the morning and the teachers themselves are more rested.
Despite decades of research, thousands of publications and clear science, schools in only a few states and the District of Columbia have moved up their start times to 8:30 a.m. on average, which researchers say is a compromise. : a better time would be closer to 9 am
The road to delayed school start times is riddled with potholes. Bus schedules have to change. Teacher and administrator schedules have to be altered. After-school sports and enrichment programs may need to start later. Parents and caregivers with more than one child may have to juggle caring for older children to get younger ones started earlier. A delayed start to school could also mean that adults with inflexible work schedules are late for work.
Experts say our agrarian model of education was designed to get teenagers up early and home before dark to tend to the farm, but it is no longer relevant to most modern students. Our cultural views of teenagers as lazy and the need to sleep as a weakness are harmful and inaccurate. And our complaints that if we survive the times of early onset, today’s teens can too, is insensitive and dismissive of science.
Access to education is a basic right in the U.S. But it’s time to stop thinking of school start times as immovable mountains. As more states mull start time legislation, school district administrators should prioritize it, and people running for school boards should add start times to their platforms. State-level funding agencies have to overcome obstacles for districts that want to try this. Employers need to be more flexible to help parents adapt to school schedules, especially with hourly employees. And unions representing teachers and other education professionals must also negotiate with adolescents in mind.
For decades we have ignored the overwhelming evidence that delaying start times helps teenagers succeed. Let teenagers sleep. There’s nothing "woke" about that.
