Terra Ziporyn Snider, a resident of Severna Park, Maryland, vividly recalls the challenges her son faced in waking up for his first-period class at 7:17 a.m. in high school. There were instances when he would turn on the shower, go back to bed while waiting for the water to warm up, and end up falling asleep again. On one occasion, he managed to leave the house but collided with the closed garage door because he forgot to open it. This incident occurred in 2012, and although it propelled Ziporyn Snider to co-found the national nonprofit Start School Later around that time, it is only now, in the fall, that the school is finally transitioning to an 8:30 a.m. start time.
This article is derived from Lisa L. Lewis’s recently published book, The Sleep-Deprived Teen.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has been advocating for later school start times since 2014, recommending that middle and high schools commence no earlier than 8:30 a.m. However, the implementation of this recommendation has been inconsistent, resulting in the majority of schools still starting too early. These early start times make it nearly impossible for teenagers, whose internal body clocks naturally shift to a later schedule during puberty, to obtain the recommended eight to ten hours of sleep for their overall health and well-being.
A groundbreaking law will come into effect on July 1 in California, making it the first state in the country to require its public high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., and its middle schools to start no earlier than 8 a.m. Similar bills are also being considered in New York and New Jersey.
Various regions that have already implemented later school start times have consistently observed positive outcomes. For example, when Seattle’s public school district shifted its start time from 7:50 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. in 2016, students obtained an additional median of 34 minutes of sleep per night. In Cherry Creek, a suburb of Denver, high school students slept an average of 45 minutes longer, and these improvements persisted even after two years.
Despite success stories like these, national sleep statistics for teenagers in the United States remain dismal. The CDC’s National Youth Risk Behavior Survey revealed that in 2007, only 31 percent of high schoolers reported getting at least eight hours of sleep on school nights. By 2019, this figure had declined to 22 percent.
This is concerning as eight hours is actually the minimum amount of sleep teenagers require. Lack of sleep among teens leads to lower grades, attendance issues, and lower graduation rates. It also increases the risk of injury for teenage athletes and contributes to more drowsy-driving accidents. Furthermore, it exacerbates mental health problems such as anxiety and suicidal thoughts. These statistics are particularly troubling in light of the CDC’s April data, which revealed that 44 percent of high schoolers experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year, and 20 percent seriously contemplated suicide.
Aside from the natural circadian rhythm changes during puberty, societal factors contribute to chronic sleep deprivation in teenagers. They are often overwhelmed, time-constrained, and required to wake up too early for school. To attain the recommended sleep duration, most teenagers should be sleeping well beyond their alarm clocks in the morning. For instance, a teenager who needs to wake up at 6 a.m. should ideally fall asleep between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. However, this conflicts with the reality of teenagers’ body clocks and the demands of homework, among other factors.
Addressing the issue begins with recognizing the value of sleep. Parents can make changes within their homes and their teenagers’ schedules to promote better sleep and prioritize it, such as implementing family rules for technology usage. For example, charging all devices in a central location outside the bedroom can discourage late-night use.
However, families can only do so much given the existing school schedules. Unlike internal body clocks, school start times can be adjusted to help teenagers obtain more sleep. Since the AAP’s recommendation in 2014, there has been a growing consensus that later start times are more beneficial for adolescents.
The new law in California represents significant progress, as it means that approximately three million students in public high schools and middle schools in the most populous state in the nation will now have healthier start times. Additionally, schools that have delayed their start times for remote learning during the pandemic and maintained the adjusted schedule after returning to in-person instruction offer more hope.
Although later start times are a critical step, there is still more work to be done to ensure that teenagers obtain the rest they require. At a broader level, we need to address the high-pressure environment teenagers face and take measures to reduce their stress levels. This may involve reevaluating their commitments and even scaling back to ensure sufficient time for sleep. In their pursuit of meeting all expectations placed upon them, our teenagers are sacrificing sleep, which detrimentally affects their well-being.
Source: Lisa L. Lewis’s book The Sleep-Deprived Teen.
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