Between early school mornings, extracurricular activities, and jobs, high school students are not getting sufficient sleep. According to the National Library of Medicine, the majority of teenagers require eight to ten hours of sleep every night. However, less than eight percent of high school students get these hours.
Insufficient sleep has many negative health effects. The University of Pittsburgh explains how “lack of sleep, as well as its quality and timing, for teens can cause mental health disorders, poor academic performance, and health problems like obesity, cardiovascular issues, and reduced immunity.” The National Library of Medicine also discovered that a sleep deficit can increase teenagers' participation in unhealthy risk behaviors such as drug and alcohol use, bullying, and eating disorders.
Sleep deficiency in teens could be partially caused by earlier school start times that are difficult for teenagers to adjust to. As a result of changes in circadian clock rhythms during puberty, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to go to bed early, even with good sleep habits, as noted by the National Library of Medicine. This shift also makes students need more morning sleep and be more awake in the afternoons.
One way people have proposed fixing this issue is to move school start times for high school students to later in the day. The American Psychological Association found that, compared to schools starting at 8-8:29, students whose school began at 8:30-8:59 “had longer sleep duration, less negative mood, and better developmental outcomes, including socioemotional health, cognitive development, behavioral health, and physical health.”
There are other benefits to later school start times, not just mentally and physically, but also in academic performance and brain functioning. The National Library of Medicine found that “later school start times also generally corresponded to improved attendance, less tardiness, less falling asleep in class, fewer depression symptoms, and fewer motor vehicle crashes.” When teenagers receive more sleep, school is more effective because students are more engaged, alert, and present in the classroom.
Later start times not only positively affect students but also parents and teachers. The American Psychological Association found that after later start times were implemented in school districts, parents and teachers of middle and high school students felt less tired and started getting enough sleep.
However, parents worry that later school start times will interfere with extracurricular activities and after-school jobs for students. The American Psychological Association explains how “later start times haven’t been found to significantly interfere with teens participating in extracurricular activities or holding after-school jobs.” As long as the schools implementing these new schedules also change their after-school schedules to accommodate this change, there shouldn’t be any new problems for teens that accompany it.
Another push back to changing school start times is that, in order to balance busy schedules, start times for elementary students will have to be moved earlier. While this receives criticism from families, the American Psychological Association notes that “it’s easier for young kids to get used to going to bed and waking up earlier, since they don’t have the biological pressures of puberty fueling their sleep drive.” Furthermore, elementary school students don’t suffer many negative effects from earlier start times, and teens benefit from later ones.
Until society puts a greater emphasis on getting sufficient sleep, the best way to combat sleep deprivation in teenagers is to push school start times later in the day. Doing so prevents countless negative physical and mental health effects as well as academic ones.