Dr. William Moorcraft
There is something that would make considerable beneficial improvements in the lives of our high school students, including:
• Better attendance and less tardiness;
• More homework done;
• Increased alertness and efficiency in class;
• Better grades;
• Improved mood;
• Better health;
• Fewer automobile accidents;
• Better student behavior;
• Teens who are “easier to live with” and have more “connection time” with parents.
Once initiated, there would be little, if any, cost to the school district.
This something is later high school start times, such as 8 or even 8:30 a.m.
Because of changes in the biological clock that occur during adolescence, the natural sleep time of teens is later. It is more difficult for them to get to sleep until later in the evening and especially more difficult to awaken until later in the morning. Requiring students to get up in time to make it to school before 8 a.m. shortens their needed beneficial amount of sleep and leaves them in a “perpetual jet lag” (Eaton, McKnight-Eily, Lowry, Perry, Presley-Cantrell, & Croft, 2010).
“It is not unusual to see students sleep in class, especially in the morning,” say both high school students and their teachers. Even when awake, they are so “out of it” that paying attention and learning suffer.
It makes more sense to have school start for teens after they have had time to get additional sleep and be more fully awake when they arrive at school.
Potential negative effects of delaying high school start times have been raised. Administrators have warned of problems with changing bus schedules. Many parents similarly complained that this would affect child care and carpools as well as their work schedules and family responsibilities. Coaches worried that there would be difficulties in scheduling practices. There may be less time for after-school jobs.
But since 1996, a number of studies in school districts that have adopted later high school start times have overwhelmingly shown that the benefits are strong and large while the negative effects have been largely overcome or accommodated. Parents, teachers, administrators and most coaches have been pleased with the resulting benefits (www.sleepfoundation.org/article/hot-topics/backgrounder-later-school-start-times).
What is needed are changes in our local high school start times as well as “a national minimum [high school] start time to make it easier for communities to do what’s best for the safety, health, and learning of all children.”
That’s why I signed a petition to the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate and President Barack Obama, which says:
“Considerable research confirms the relationship between school start times, sleep deprivation, and student performance, truancy, and absenteeism, as well as depression, mood swings, impulse control, tobacco and alcohol use, impaired cognitive function and decision-making, obesity, stimulant abuse, automobile accidents, and suicide. Mounting evidence about the biology of adolescent sleep, and about the impact of later start times, shows that starting school before 8 a.m. not only undermines academic achievement but endangers health and safety. Because logistical and financial issues prevent local school systems from establishing safe and educationally defensible hours, however, legislation mandating start times consistent with student health and educational well-being is essential.”
Please join me in signing this national petition and also to urge local school authorities to not start high schools until after 8 a.m. Our teens deserve every opportunity to be at their best.
Dr. William (Bill) Moorcroft is author of “Understanding Sleep and Dreaming,” 2nd edition, Springer Press, 2013; a registered psychotherapist (Colorado); and behavioral sleep medicine specialist at Northern Colorado Sleep Consultants LLC.