At one time or another, on a given night, everyone has not gotten the amount of sleep they need. The end result is feeling tired and sluggish, and not as mentally or physically as sharp as usual. This, of course, leads to a number of problems such as accidents, being distracted, and reduced productivity. The Sleep Medicine Division of Harvard Medical School confirms this observation by concluding that insufficient sleep, especially over a period of time, increases the likelihood of making errors, inefficiency, poor health, contraction of diseases, and even early death.
Sleep deprivation has become a major problem in the U.S. with growing numbers of people falling into this group. For adults, the generally accepted minimum is 7 hours of sleep per night which few of us rarely get. WebMD states that this can at least partially be attributed to our ever more 24/7 economy where beyond our average 9.5 hour work day, we are adding another 4 ½ hours to the work week by working at home.
Unfortunately, as far as optimal sleep goes, things are not much different when it comes to adolescents. Biological clocks control the circadian rhythm patterns that change throughout our lives. This is particularly true for children as they become teens and young adults. It can be nearly impossible for teens to fall asleep before 11 p.m. and, conversely, wake up early in the morning. As a result, The National Sleep Institute and the National Institutes of Health found that while teens need 8.5-10 hours of sleep a night, only 15 percent of students are actually getting this on school nights.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (APP) made the recommendation that school districts delay start times for middle and high school students to 8:30 a.m. or later. The article states that research has clearly found that moving school start times back for middle and high school students will improve their grades and standardized test scores as well as their overall quality of life. Further, the AAP article cites a National Sleep Foundation poll finding that 87 percent of high school and 59 percent of middle school students typically do not get the required amount of sleep of 8.5 plus hours on school nights. Unfortunately, this is often due to early school start times.
This begs the question: Why do school districts, despite the preponderance of research and recommendations of pediatric experts, insist on start times that clearly put middle and high school students at an academic disadvantage? A recent article in Time discussed some of the reasons. The reasons include the impact on student athletics, businesses that rely on student labor, consequences for working parents, and added costs due to bus schedules.
A few years ago, Shelby County Schools (SCS) debated moving to later start times for high school students but this idea was eventually shelved. It was reported that this decision was based largely on anticipated higher costs for bus routes. That said, with the state and national emphasis on raising student achievement and scores on high stakes tests, does it not make sense to find a way to pay the additional buses costs for later start times? Especially, if later start times will not only improve students’ academic performance but also their quality of life?
The SCS administration has repeatedly stated it bases decisions on data driven practices designed to produce the best results for our children. In fact, teachers’ evaluations and retention decisions are tied to raising students’ academic performances. With research repeatedly concluding that delaying start times for middle and high schoolers will produce better results, SCS is doing our students a disservice by not making this change. Therefore, I believe it is essential that SCS and every school system across America needs to adopt the 8:30 a.m. or later rule. Is this too much to ask? I think not.
Dr. D. Jackson Maxwell is a freelance writer and educator with over 30 years of experience. If you have any questions or comments, please contact him at: djacksonmaxwell@gmail.com. — Bt Dr. D. Jackson Maxwell
