Despite Proven Benefits, Starting School Later is Still a ‘Tough Sell’
“Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” This well-known proverb, say scientists from the University of Oxford, Harvard University, and the University of Nevada is only helping to make students’ lives miserable. The conventional wisdom that going to bed early and getting up early leads to productivity and success is, in the case of teenagers at least, simply wrong. Paul Kelley, Steven Lockey, Russell Foster and Jonathan Kelley argue that letting students sleep and starting school later can lead to better health and academic outcomes.
Unfortunately, concerns about lack of sleep often get the brush-off from schools and even some parents who are quick to blame inattentiveness in school solely on teen behavior, laziness, general indifference, or all of the above. If only they went to bed earlier, concentration and attentiveness would improve. But in their report, the researchers say that schools are ignoring adolescent biology and are “systemically restricting the time available for sleep and causing severe and chronic sleep loss.”
They’re not alone. The chorus of voices in favor of schools starting later has been getting louder. In August, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued findings that lay out a stark and sobering picture of how sleep deprivation harms teenagers, a common problem among high school students especially. Adolescents who don’t get enough sleep (CDC recommends 9-10 hours) have an increased risk of being overweight, suffering depression, and struggling academically.
Less than one third of U.S. students, however, are sleeping at least 8 hours on school nights and four out of five middle and high schools start their day before 8:30 a.m. A consensus has emerged among health experts that this is simply too early.
In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended middle and high schools delay the start of class to 8:30 a.m. or later, necessary to align school schedules to the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents.“Chronic sleep loss in children and adolescents is one of the most common – and easily fixable – public health issues in the U.S. today,” said Dr. Judith Owens, author of the AAP policy statement. “Delaying early school start times is one key factor that Despite Proven Benefits, Starting School Later is Still a 'Tough Sell' - NEA Today: