The Push for Later School Start Times
The difference in school start times from public schools to boarding schools differs greatly. Recently I shifted from public school to boarding school and one of the most noticeable changes has been the later school start time. The additional hour and a half of sleep that I receive at boarding school benefits me immensely. Later school start times have not only made a significant difference in my well-being but most importantly, it has made a tremendous impact on my body — thus allowing me to be a more engaged student.
Sleep deprivation has contributed to cause car accidents, depression, and most concerning, emotional exhaustion in students. Many students worldwide are waking up extremely early, which for most teenagers can be physically challenging. This is why the CDC recommends “…teenagers aged 13 to 18 years should regularly sleep 8 to 10 hours per day for good health,” (Wahlstrom). Sleep is the way the body recovers from a long day. “Teens need about 9.25 hours of sleep each night, a difficult amount to obtain when the brain doesn’t enter sleep mode until about 10:45 pm. and when students must awaken early for a school day that begins before 8:30a.m,” (Wahlstrom). The maturation of the teenage brain makes it difficult for a student to fall asleep before 10:45 p.m. Without obtaining sleep to replenish their bodies and minds, students are unable to perform at their full potential. This can range from bad grades and poor attendance, to less engagement in class.
The brain and body should be fully charged to function productively. With the proper eight to ten hours of sleep, adolescent students are able to function to their full potential. Sleep is crucial for teenagers as their brains and bodies are in, “…a time of very fast physical, intellectual and emotional growth” (Canadian Paediatric Society’s Adolescent Health Committee). To function at their best ability means their memory, concentration, and motivations are fully engaged. Lack of sleep can leave students more vulnerable to serious mental health problems, such as depression.
Nationally, mental health is a public health issue. Although it is relatively common, mental health disorders in adolescence have significantly increased: “At least one in five youth aged 9–17 years old currently has a diagnosable mental health disorder,” but, “only a third of these youth receive the necessary treatment.” Furthermore, “Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people aged 15–24 years old,” (Committee on Adolescent Health Care). This statistic is alarming and surely highlights the need for change. The push for later school start times is one simple way that schools could help to address this issue.
Anxiety and depression are the most notable mental health issues found amongst sleep deprived adolescents. A study performed by the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health looked at roughly 5,000 teenagers, and they discovered that depression and anxiety symptoms were closely linked with sleep deprivation in teens: “Teenagers with depression got 3.5 hours less of sleep on average than the control group” (Newport Academy). The control group sustained on average nine hours of sleep. As students’ ages and grade level increased, the amount of sleep they got decreased. Factors that contribute to this lack of sleep include homework, extracurriculars, employment, and the college process. Furthermore, lack of sleep also impacts the number of automobile accidents that occur becayse many accidents are caused by drowsy drivers. “About 1 in 10 car crashes are due to drowsy driving, and young drivers, people between the ages of 16–24, account for more than 50 percent of them,” (Erin). While not all of these incidents are related to school start times, it is worth considering how this type of small change could influence a larger problem, and school administrators need to consider how lack of sleep impacts student performance and make adjustments accordingly.
Some states have already established laws to push back school start times. The state of California is one of those states and they have argued that, “…such a move would optimize learning, reduce tardiness, and contribute to overall well-being,” (Christine, Kwai). The new California law requires all high schools to have school start times no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and students are seeing the benefits. Although changes like this may lead to challenging adjustments in other areas, such as timing of transportation, they are worth making because the benefits are so significant. The push for later school start times will not solve all mental health issues, but it will make a difference in the student experience and it is worth trying. All school districts are different, and the adjustments they make can vary, but no matter the obstacles, meeting the needs of the students they serve should be the priority of every school.
Works Cited
Canadian Paediatric Society’s Adolescent Health Committee. “Teens and Sleep: Why You Need It and How to Get Enough.” Paediatrics & Child Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2008, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2528821/#:~:text=Teens%20need%20more%20sleep%20because,likely%20to%20struggle%20in%20school.
Committee on Adolescent Health Care. “Mental Health Disorders in Adolescents.” ACOG, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, July 2017, www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2017/07/mental-health-disorders-in-adolescents#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20mental%20illnesses,people%20aged%2015%E2%80%9324%20years.
Gabriel, Erin. “Drowsy Driving Is a Factor in Almost 10% of Crashes, Study Finds.” CNN, Cable News Network, 8 Feb. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/02/08/health/drowsy-driving-crashes-study/index.html.
Hauser, Christine, and Isabella Kwai. “California Tells Schools to Start Later, Giving Teenagers More Sleep.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Oct. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/10/14/us/school-sleep-start.html#:~:text=The%20passage%20of%20the%20law,contribute%20to%20overall%20well%2Dbeing.
Ryan, Morgan. “Sleep vs School: Why HCPSS Should Push Back Start Times.” Sleep vs School: Why HCPSS Should Push Back Start Times, 2 Feb. 2022, atholtonnews.com/2022/02/02/sleep-vs-school-why-hcpss-should-push-back-start-times/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20CDC%2C%20%E2%80%9Cteenagers,to%20accomplishing%20this%20nightly%20goal.
Committee on Adolescent Health Care. “Mental Health Disorders in Adolescents.” ACOG, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, July 2017, www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2017/07/mental-health-disorders-in-adolescents#:~:text=The%20 most%20 common%20 mental%20 illnesses,people%20aged%2015%E2%80%9324%20years.
Staff, Newport Academy. “Sleep Deprivation in Teens.” Newport Academy, 8 Aug. 2023, www.newportacademy.com/resources/well-being/sleep-deprived-teens/#:~:text=A%20study%20of%20close%20to,average%20than%20the%20control%20group.
Wahlstrom, Kyla L. “Later Start Time for Teens Improves Grades, Mood, and Safety.” The Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 98, no. 4, 2016, pp. 8–14. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24893397. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.
