Starting School Later Could Solve a Major Problem Among Youth: Sleep Deprivation

School start times have become the subject of much controversy over the last couple of years, as an increasing number of school districts across the nation look to change school start times to battle the epidemic of sleep deprivation among adolescents. Pennridge School District is starting a sleep and school start time study in order to understand the effects of sleep and school start time on the student body, as well as the components that would be affected by a potential change to school start time. Changing school start times would better accommodate the biologically determined sleep-wake cycle of teenagers, as teenagers are more inclined to stay up late at night and wake up later in the morning. A later school start time would also replicate the 9-5 work schedule most teens will have as adults. 

Changing school start times to later in the morning does present several issues, school administrators would have to delay bus schedules, coaches would have to change practice times, and parents could not rely on the current start time for childcare purposes or carpools. However these issues do not outweigh the dangers of sleep deprivation among students. Sleep deprivation has serious negative consequences on health; it can cause: diminished productivity, irritability, difficulty studying, obesity, high blood pressure, fatigue, heart disease, diabetes, depression, and sleep disorders. Sleep deprivation suppresses immune cells that fight off viral infections and cancer, which could explain why people who get a sufficient seven to eight hours of sleep outlive those who are chronically sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation can also be devastating for student drivers, as drivers fatigue contributes to an estimated 20% of traffic accidents in the United States. In accordance with a recommendation made by the The American Pediatrics Center, school start times should be pushed back to at least 8:30 a.m. or later.