The Impact of School Start Times on Adolescent Health and Academic Performance

1. The Impact of School Start Times on Adolescent Health and Academic Performance Presented by Your Name

2. Phase Delay • Begins with • the onset of • puberty • The sleep/wake pattern undergoes a biological delay in the timing of sleep.

3. “ ‘Early to bed, early to rise’—may be difficult in the presence of a biologically driven phase preference.” ---Mary Carskadon, et al. (1993)

4. The adolescent sleep pattern runs from about 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. and is “rather fixed.”

5. “Sending kids to school at 7 a.m. is the equivalent of sending an adult to work at 4 in the morning.” ---William Dement, M.D., Sc.D., Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Division Chief, Stanford University Division of Sleep.

6. “All of the research that has been done shows that older adolescents need more sleep than younger ones. They fall asleep later and wake up later to get the sleep they need. Despite these two facts, almost all districts start the senior high schools first. We’re sending them to school during the last one-third of their sleep cycles. It’s comparable to adults getting up at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. You wouldn’t want to be making important decisions at that hour. I think it’s nuts. The sleep deficit builds up until they fall asleep at school or driving.”

7. Adolescent Sleep Needs <8 = Insufficient 8 = Borderline ~8.5 hours = Adequate ~9.2 hours = Optimal Older adolescents need 9-10 hours

8. Across species, maturing individuals sleep more than fully mature individuals. • Brain maturation • Extensive brain • rewiring • Release of growth • hormone

9. “Almost all teenagers in this country are sleep-deprived.” ---Maida Chen, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Assistant Director, Pediatric Sleep Disorders Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital.

10. 2011 National Sleep Foundation Poll: 14% of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 report getting nine or more hours of sleep on weeknights Weeknight Sleep Deprivation Prevails Among Teens

11. “Sleep deprivation among adolescents appears to be, in some respects, the norm rather than the exception in contemporary society.”

12. “Our study does confirm that on school days adolescents are obtaining less sleep then they are thought to need, and the factor with the biggest impact is school start times.”

13. ”Abusive” --Mary Carskadon, Ph.D. ”Deleterious” --Janet Croft, Ph.D. ”Nonsense” --Till Roenneberg, Ph.D.

14. ”It is cruelto impose a cultural pattern on teenagers that makes them underachieve.” ---Russell Foster, Ph.D., F.R.S., Chair of Circadian Neuroscience, Oxford University

15. Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) The SCN is primarily responsible for regulating the circadian rhythm, the body’s hard-wired internal ‘clock.’

16. Circadian Timing Light incident on human retinas entrains or phase shifts SCN timing. Work/rest schedules which conflict with the circadian rhythm result in circadian desynchronization.

17. Modifying Adolescent Circadian Timing Carefully control light exposure Including wearing eyeshades to exclude evening light

18. “The issue of under-sleeping in adolescents takes on added significance when one considers that waking up too early costs the sleeper mostly REM sleep which predominates during the last two to three hours of a night’s sleep.”

19. Sleep Debt Can Mimic ADHD • Similar Symptoms: • Distractibility • Impulsivity • Difficulty with effortful control of attention

20. Some Effects of Sleep Debt • Decreased ability to regulate emotions and behavior • Poor grades and school performance • Increased depression, anxiety, and fatigue • Reduced immunity to illness.

21. Roper v. Simmons (2005) “Risk-taking is a complex phenomenon, and adolescents seem to be a particularly vulnerable population.”

22. More Effects of Sleep Debt • Increased criminality • Increased caffeine consumption • Increased health-risk behaviors: • Cigarette use • Marijuana use • Alcohol use • Sexually active • Feeling sad or hopeless • Seriously considering • attempting suicide

23. Young people between 16 and 29 years of age are the most likely to be involved in crashes caused by the driver falling asleep. Crash rates have fallen substantially in districts starting school at 8:30 a.m. or later.

24. Additional Effects of Sleep Loss ϑ Excessive weight gain ϑ Elevated blood pressure ϑ Interference with secondary brain development ϑ Physical, psychological, or social difficulties

25. CDC Study (2010) “Delaying school start times is a demonstrated strategy to promote sufficient sleep among adolescents.”

26. “The results were stunning. There’s no other word to use. We didn’t think we’d get that much bang for the buck.” • ---Patricia Moss, M.A., Ph.D., Assistant Head of School and Head of the Latin Department, St. George’s School, Rhode Island.

27. Later Start Time Studies – Outcomes: • Higher attendance rates • Higher graduation rates • Fewer tardy students • Fewer trips to the nurse’s office • Students report feeling more motivated • More hot breakfast meals consumed • Administrators report greater “calmness” in the student body

28. Later Start Time Studies – Outcomes • Kids get more sleep • Fewer reports of depression • Kids watch less Television • Attention levels improve • Less impulsivity • Better “rates of performance”

29. Sleep and Sports • Sleep extension (i.e., extra sleep) results in: • Faster reaction times • Improved skill execution • Improved peripheral vision • Peak athletic performance

30. Academics and Later Start Times • 60 minute delay: Edwards found a 3% gain math and reading scores • 50 minute delay: Carrell, et al., found a 0.15 standard deviation improvement in student achievement

31. Brookings Institute Report • 9 a.m. start time: 0.175 standard deviation improvement in academic achievement • 9 to 1 benefits to cost ratio • to change start times • $17,500 increase in student earnings

32. Obstacles to Later Start Times Transportation After School Activities Other Students and Programs Reduced Time to Access Public Resources Teachers Stress for Families Uneducated Community Resistance of students

33. Sleep Hygiene • Dim lights before bedtime • Go to bed at the same time every night • Turn off electronic devices 1-2 hours before bedtime • Limit electronic devices in the bedroom; eliminate TV’s and computers • Finish dinner at least 2 hours before sleeping • Calming activities before bedtime • Limit caffeine consumption • Get plenty of exercise – but finish at least 4 hours before bedtime

34. “Rather than the ‘early to bed...’ adage, the new adage should be, ‘Wake up later and your grades will be greater.’” ---James Maas, Ph.D., Retired Professor of Psychology, Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, Cornell University.

35. The End