After Seattle high schools pushed back their start times from 7:50 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., sophomores started getting better grades, according to a study.
Researchers had students wear activity trackers, which revealed the teenagers were getting more sleep “closer to their natural sleep pattern on weekends,” said one of the lead study authors, Gideon Dunster, a graduate student at the University of Washington.
Experts have long argued for later start times in middle and high school.
A new study used activity trackers worn on the wrist to see how such a delay affected kids in a real school. It showed kids slept more, got better grades and missed fewer days of class when their school day started somewhat later.
Adolescents are different from younger kids. Most adolescents don’t feel ready for bed until after 10:30 p.m. That’s because puberty shifts everyone’s circadian rhythms, the 24-hour cycles our bodies naturally follow. Circadian rhythms help regulate when we fall asleep and when we waken.
The shift is related to melatonin, the hormone that helps us fall asleep. “When puberty begins, a teenager’s body doesn’t secrete that hormone until later in the evening,” notes Kyla Wahlstrom, an expert on human development and education at the University of Minnesota.
Even with their shifted rhythms, teenagers still need eight to 10 hours of sleep each night. If they fall
asleep late, they’ll need more snooze time in the morning. That’s why doctors, teachers and scientists
have recommended for many years that school should start later, and some schools have listened.
To read about the Seattle team’s study and its published findings, follow the link below: