A tale of two teenagers: Summer Teen stays up late and sleeps in, following a schedule driven in part by hormonal changes during puberty. During the school year, that teen transforms into Zombie Teen, who must wake by 6 a.m. or earlier to catch a bus to one of New York state’s public high schools, which start, on average, at 7:48 am.
Even if they tried, most teens are unable to fall asleep until 11 p.m. or later because of those physiological changes. Achieving the recommended eight to 10 hours of sleep becomes an insolvable math problem for Zombie Teen, with profound academic and emotional consequences.
But the system is rigged to produce Zombie Teens.
Nearly all (96%) New York state public high school districts outside of New York City start before 8:30 a.m., although expert groups recommend start times of 8:30am or later for high school and middle school students. In Syracuse, high school and middle school students in the city school district will be rising even earlier than before, after the district moved the start time from 7:50 a.m. to 7:25 a.m. In my upstate school district, the bus arrives at 6:35am for the high school start time of 7:25am. Nationally, 28% of schools start after 8:30 a.m.
Students who need to be roused from sleep at 6 or earlier simply can’t get the recommended amount of sleep per night. One recent study found such early start times typically result in one hour and 20 minutes less sleep during the school year compared to summer. Less sleep wreaks havoc on mental and physical health, affecting mood, attention, memory, executive functioning, impulse control, and quality of life. Insufficient sleep also increases the risk of accidents, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and depression.
Sleep deprivation in teenagers is associated with an increased risk of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this winter shows teen girls are experiencing record-high levels of suicide risk, and LGBTQ+ teens face extremely high levels of mental health challenges. The suicide rate for Americans ages 10 to 19 jumped 40 percent from 2001 to 2019, with self-harm rising by 88 percent. The Follow Google News
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