You may have been one of many to think, “I wish school started later,” either while groggy or fully awake. The ongoing debate on whether school start times should be pushed back has been controversial for years, but it has finally found its way to Natick. In late January of this year, the Natick Sleep Study Committee, composed of teachers, staff, program administrators, parents, and school committee members, sent out a survey regarding student sleep patterns and current schedules to aid towards creating the most beneficial schedule for a school day. 

One of the most significant concerns that prompted the rise of later school start times was teenagers’ lack of sleep due to late bedtimes after a full day of homework, sports, jobs, and extracurricular activities, then waking up early the next morning. Although the amount of sleep an individual needs depends on their overall health, activities, and sleep patterns, the National Sleep Foundation recommends eight to ten hours of sleep per night for teenagers. This poses an issue at Natick High School, as Common Directed Study (CDS) begins at 7:30 a.m. for all underclassmen and for the upperclassmen with mentorship or lab, many of whom arrive earlier on the bus or by their own mode of transportation. The current 7:30 a.m. start time, which is earlier than the average high school start time of 8 a.m. in the United States, means that students would have to be in bed and asleep by 11 p.m. for a full eight hours and 9 p.m. for ten hours, leaving just 30 minutes to get ready, have breakfast, and arrive at school.

So, how would later start times make a difference? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends middle and high schools to start at 8:30 a.m. or later, both to address teenagers’ lack of sleep and the consequences that follow. When teenagers are deprived of sleep, they are put at risk of being overweight, not engaging in daily physical activity, suffering from symptoms of depression, performing poorly in school, and engaging in unhealthy risk behaviors such as drinking, smoking, or drug use, according to the CDC. Later start times would also help with children and teenagers’ “phase delay,” which is the body clock’s shift to later sleep and wake times during adolescence. Studies show that some of the other benefits include improved attendance, decreased tardiness, better grades, fewer times falling asleep in class, fewer disciplinary issues, reduced irritability and depressive symptoms, and even a 16.5% decrease in the teen motor vehicle crash rate.

Despite these benefits, later school start times may not be the best solution for all. Some factors, such as being involved in multiple extracurricular activities and using electronic devices to complete homework, are simply embedded into American culture. As such, changing start times would not have much of an impact, especially if school hours are further prolonged into the afternoon. If everything were to be delayed, then it seems reasonable to assume that it would leave students less time to complete work during the day, forcing them to go to bed even later. In addition, a shift in times brings on the possibility of new scheduling and transportation conflicts.

As the sleep study survey has since been closed and the Natick Sleep Study Committee is left to weigh various responses, only time will tell whether Natick schools will join others in the transition to later start times.