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Recommendation for Later High School Start Times

Recommendation for Later High School Start Times – To help aid teen sleep deprivation, the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) is recommending high schools and junior highs start classes at 8:30a (or even later).

OAKLAND COUNTY MOMS EDUCATION ARTICLES & RESOURCES

I monitor AAP press released regularly and find that their “usual” guidelines and recommendations typically fall within what I would deem “normal” school policies and guidelines. In other words, usually the AAP recommendations don’t surprise me very much or stray too far from the policies our home school district already has in place..

This recommendation for later high school start times for high school students surprises me because it is so far from what parents and high school kids are used to – at least around here. In fact, I just received noticed from my kids’ school district that school will be starting even earlier this year because “additional minutes were needed in order to meet the number of instructional hours required by the state, as there was a change in how these hours are counted beginning this year”. The minutes were tacked on at the end of the school day as well as added to the school start times. So, my son’s junior high school will now start at 7:25a – over 1 full hour earlier than the AAP Recommendation!

I’m not saying I disagree with the AAP recommendation for later high school start times for high and junior high schools, I’m just starting to wonder if any schools will take these recommendations seriously. If Michigan school districts take these AAP school start times recommendations to heart, it would mean a 4:30p or 5p final bell for high school and junior high students. It would be quite an adjustment to teachers and administrators. Also, think of havoc it would play on school sports schedules etc…

Do you think later start high school start times are needed?

AAP School Start Times Studies

Per the aap.org 2019 Study on School Start Times – “School Start Times, Sleep, and Youth Outcomes: A Meta-analysis”

Later SSTs were associated with better overall developmental outcomes, longer sleep duration, and less negative mood. Specifically, new SSTs between 8:30 and 8:59 were associated with better outcomes than 8:00 to 8:29 start times. Later SSTs were more strongly associated with lower levels of sleepiness for high school (versus middle school) youth, and youth in private (versus public) schools reported better sleep and later wake times with later SSTs. Although this meta-analysis suggests an overall benefit of later SSTs, there was limited research to test outcomes such as sleep hygiene, naps, and behavioral and physical health outcomes.

Here is the full press release from aap.org regarding delaying start times for high school and junior high students:

Studies show that adolescents who don’t get enough sleep often suffer physical and mental health problems, an increased risk of automobile accidents and a decline in academic performance. But getting enough sleep each night can be hard for teens whose natural sleep cycles make it difficult for them to fall asleep before 11 p.m. – and who face a first-period class at 7:30 a.m. or earlier the next day.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends middle and high schools delay the start of class to 8:30 a.m. or later. Doing so will align school schedules to the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents, whose sleep-wake cycles begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty.

“Chronic sleep loss in children and adolescents is one of the most common – and easily fixable – public health issues in the U.S. today,” said pediatrician Judith Owens, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement, “School Start Times for Adolescents,” published in the September 2014 issue of Pediatrics.

“The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life,” Dr. Owens said. “Studies have shown that delaying early school start times is one key factor that can help adolescents get the sleep they need to grow and learn.”

Many studies have documented that the average adolescent in the U.S. is chronically sleep-deprived and pathologically sleepy. A National Sleep Foundation poll found 59 percent of 6th through 8th graders and 87 percent of high school students in the U.S. were getting less than the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep on school nights.

The reasons for teens’ lack of sleep are complex, and include homework, extracurricular activities, after-school jobs and use of technology that can keep them up late on week nights. The AAP recommends pediatricians counsel teens and parents about healthy sleep habits, including enforcing a media curfew. The AAP also advises health care professionals to educate parents, educators, athletic coaches and other stakeholders about the biological and environmental factors that contribute to insufficient sleep.

But the evidence strongly suggests that a too-early start to the school day is a critical contributor to chronic sleep deprivation among American adolescents. An estimated 40 percent of high schools in the U.S. currently have a start time before 8 a.m.; only 15 percent start at 8:30 a.m. or later. The median middle school start time is 8 a.m., and more than 20 percent of middle schools start at 7:45 a.m. or earlier.

Napping, extending sleep on weekends, and caffeine consumption can temporarily counteract sleepiness, but they do not restore optimal alertness and are not a substitute for regular, sufficient sleep, according to the AAP.

The AAP urges middle and high schools to aim for start times that allow students to receive 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep a night. In most cases, this will mean a school start time of 8:30 a.m. or later, though schools should also consider average commuting times and other local factors.

“The AAP is making a definitive and powerful statement about the importance of sleep to the health, safety, performance and well-being of our nation’s youth,” Dr. Owens said. “By advocating for later school start times for middle and high school students, the AAP is both promoting the compelling scientific evidence that supports school start time delay as an important public health measure, and providing support and encouragement to those school districts around the country contemplating that change.

For more on the AAP and later high school start times, visit aap.org.

2 thoughts on “Recommendation for Later High School Start Times”

  1. I agree with AAP on this one however I believe all children, not just the older ones, would do better with a later start. My first grader loves going to school but has the hardest time getting up in the morning no matter how early he goes to bed. And sometimes it’s just too hard for him to fall asleep at night if it’s too early.

    Reply
  2. I have always wondered why kids start school so early. We need to do what’s best for our children. The teachers unions should be encouraging this

    Reply

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