The Case for Later School Start Times
The conversation surrounding the ideal school start time has been ongoing for years. While it seems logical for younger students to have later start times to accommodate their need for more sleep, the same consideration should apply to middle and high school students as well. Recent research indicates that pushing school start times to after 8:30 a.m. can yield significant benefits—not just for students’ mental and physical health, but also for the economy as a whole.
One of the primary arguments against later start times revolves around transportation logistics; schools often use the same buses for different age groups, necessitating staggered schedules. However, we must ask ourselves: what is the true cost of waking our kids up before 7 a.m. when they are not fully ready to learn?
Wendy Thompson, a co-author of a recent study, stated in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, “The substantial economic benefits from simply shifting school start times to 8:30 a.m. would manifest within a few years, offering a dual benefit of improving adolescent public health and doing so in a cost-effective manner.” The Tribune reported that the potential national economic benefit from enhanced academic performance and decreased car accident rates could reach an astounding $9.3 billion annually. That’s quite a substantial figure.
A study conducted by the RAND Corporation revealed that adjusting middle school start times to 8:30 a.m. or later could contribute a whopping $83 billion to the U.S. economy over the next decade. This increase not only translates into improved academic performance—ultimately leading to better career earnings—but it also correlates with fewer car accidents due to sleep deprivation.
So, why haven’t we already made this change? While new start times would undoubtedly incur additional costs for school districts, such as new bus schedules and potential infrastructure upgrades for after-school activities, these expenses are minuscule compared to the benefits students would reap from more sleep.
As a parent of a middle schooler who boards the bus at 6:40 a.m., I can personally attest to the toll this takes. My child is often awake by 6 a.m., and with late-night hockey practices sometimes ending around 10 p.m., he rarely gets more than seven hours of sleep on school nights. The result? A cranky kid struggling to focus during the day.
It’s well-known that teenagers naturally tend to stay up late and sleep in. My high school daughter, who doesn’t have evening sports and catches the bus at a slightly later time of 7:30 a.m., still battles sleep deprivation despite my best efforts to enforce an early bedtime.
Critics might argue that later start times would simply encourage teenagers to stay up later. However, research contradicts this notion. A systematic review published last year found that delaying school start times by 25 to 60 minutes led to increased sleep duration of 25 to 77 minutes per night. Essentially, students maintained their bedtime, but the extra time in the morning allowed for crucial rest.
The issue of school start times is pervasive and remains an urgent concern. It’s no secret that our children are often over-scheduled and perpetually plugged into their devices, leading to chronic fatigue. While implementing such a policy change would take considerable effort, the research suggests that delaying school start times could significantly help address some of these challenges.
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Summary:
Delaying school start times for teenagers offers numerous benefits, including better academic performance, improved mental health, and significant economic gains. Despite the logistical challenges, the advantages of allowing students to get adequate sleep far outweigh the costs associated with implementing later start times.