Sleep Deprived Students: What Schools Can Do to Help

Adolescents need sleep, and they are not getting enough. While the over-tired teenager has become commonplace1 and at times expected, the fact is that teens need far more sleep than they are getting. Teens are often viewed as going to bed later than they should, choosing social lives and media over sleep. In fact, students go to sleep later during adolescence because of their biological programming.2 Early school start times put students at a disadvantage in terms of sleep.3 Schools need to consider delaying start times to help improve student health, performance, and well-being.

Breakdown of Teen Sleep:

Adolescents need 9.2 hours of sleep each night, on average.2 In a 2009 study, 91.9% of teen participants got less than 9 hours of sleep each school night.4 Furthermore, almost half of American teenagers get less than 7 hours of sleep on school nights.1 At the onset of adolescence, teens go through a biological change called delayed phase preference.3 This delays teens physical ability to fall asleep by up to 2 hours.5 Studies show that most teens have trouble falling asleep before 11pm.5 The ideal wake time for adolescents is around 8am.5 Sleep deprived students struggle with fatigue, have difficulty concentrating in school6, and self-report having lower grades.4

Benefits of Delayed Start Times:

A Minneapolis school district delayed start times by nearly 1.5 hours. They saw large improvements in absences, tardiness, student attitudes, and discipline problems.3 Delaying start times by even 30 minutes has demonstrated a significant increase in sleep duration and motivation. Students have also reported a decrease in daytime fatigue and feelings of depression.5 In a 2010 study, sleep deprived teens were more inattentive in class and performed poorer on quizzes than those who slept more.1 A 2010 study showed that the earlier adolescents began class (prior to 7:50am), the poorer their grades were throughout the day.7

References: (1) Beebe, D., Rose, D., & Amin, R. (2010). Attention, learning, and arousal of experimentally sleep-restricted adolescents in a simulated

classroom. Journal Of Adolescent Health, 47(5), 523-525. (2) Wolfson, A., Spaulding, N., Dandrow, C., & Baroni, E. (2007). Middle school start times: The importance of a good nights sleep for young adolescents. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 5, 194-209. (3) Kirby, M., Maggi, S., & DAngiulli, A. (2011). School start times and the sleepwake cycle of adolescents: A review and critical evaluation of available evidence. Educational Researcher, 40(2), 56-61. (4) Noland, H., Price, J., Dake, J., & Telljohann, S. (2009). Adolescents sleep behaviors and perceptions of sleep. Journal of School Health, 79, 224-30. (5) Owens, J., Belon, K., & Moss, P. (2010). Impact of delaying school start time on adolescent sleep, mood, and behavior. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 164(7), 608-614. (6) Wolfson, A., & Carskadon, M. (1998). Sleep schedules and daytime functioning in adolescents. Child Development, 69, 875887. (7) Carrell, S., Maghakian, T., & West, J. (2010). As from Zzzs? The causal effect of school start time on the academic achievement of adolescents. American Economic Journal, 3(3), 62-81.