The issue of school start times and sleep-deprived youth is not new. Back in the early 1990s, researchers at Brown University found that the onset of puberty creates a shift in sleeping patterns. Teens tend to go to bed later and get up later than younger children to get the eight to 11 hours of sleep they need.

In 1994 physicians and researchers proposed starting times after 8:30 a.m. for middle and high school students.According to schoolstarttime.org: “Students at later-starting schools get more sleep, perform better academically, have significantly fewer automobile accidents, report greater motivation and less depression, experience fewer physical health difficulties, are less likely to be tardy or truant, demonstrate ‘better performance in attention level, impulsivity, and rate of performance,’ and, according to Brookings Institute economists, will measurably improve fiscal prospects for themselves (with effects for disadvantaged students roughly twice as large), and for their communities, when school begins at ‘roughly’ 9 a.m.”Still, most administrators have stuck to school schedules physicians and scientists call “toxic,” “abusive,” “nonsense,” “deleterious,” “cruel” and “nuts.”A study published Aug. 7 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offering new research, authored by Anne G. Wheaton, Ph.D.; Gabrielle A. Ferro, Ph.D.; and Janet B. Croft, Ph.D., has helped reawaken the debate.The study surveyed the start times of thousands of middle and high schools across the country and its findings echoed the 1990s research and last year’s report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics. That study, authored by Judith A. Owens, MD, MPH, FAAP, recommended that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.The September 2014 AAP report suggested the later start times are due to teenagers’ circadian cycles, which make it difficult to fall asleep before 11 p.m.With school start times before 8:30 a.m., middle and high schools students are often unable to sleep the 8.5 to 9.5 recommended hours per night.Both the AAP and the CDC studies have concluded that in addition to students not achieving optimal academic performance in school, being tardy or absent more frequently and falling asleep during class, the lack of sleep often leads to worse risks.These risks include a greater likelihood of being overweight, suffering from depression, using tobacco products or drugs, relying on caffeine or prescription medications to remain alert and causing fatigue-related car crashes.The AAP report cited evidence that substantiated the claim that students who began school later performed better. In one study, the results showed that middle school students who started class an hour later than usual saw their standardized test scores increase and in another study, the percentage of students getting less than seven hours of sleep decreased to 79 percent.Despite the studies and reports of the benefits of later start times, not everyone is convinced that the shift is practical. The CDC report’s list of concerns included increased transportation costs due to the changes in bus schedules, difficulty in scheduling after-school activities and lack of education in communities relating to the importance of getting enough sleep.Other concerns addressed by the AAP study include reduced after-school employment hours for students, challenges in providing child care for younger siblings, safety issues and the potential of students abusing the delay by staying up later, continuing the sleep cycle they are currently stuck in.Bethlehem Area School District Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy is familiar with the topic but said, “Some of the barriers, I think, aren’t necessarily considered in these research studies.”His personal worries about shifting the schedules involve the supervision of younger siblings, who would then get out of school earlier than their older siblings; the safety of students, who would then be walking home in the dark during winter; and the logistics of transportation.“If we could have everyone start at the same time, it would be easy. But that’s difficult to do unless we invested in a lot more buses, which are very expensive. So those are some of the practical realities of it,” Roy said.In the mind of one student, a later start time is exactly what is needed in order to fit everything into their busy weekdays.“I definitely agree with (the research),” said Didi Kumalo, a student at the Lehigh Valley Charter HS for the Arts.“I mean, it’s hard to get to bed at a certain time with extracurriculars and homework. Not to mention things like practicing (an instrument) and stuff. There’s no time for anything anymore!”Jessica Deemer, a Freedom HS student, agrees.“I think that high schools should definitely start later,” she said. “With the amount of work that school gives us, having more time to sleep will help us with time management and make us more alert in school,” she said.Moravian Academy administrators are likewise familiar with the topic, but while willing to discuss the idea, were largely noncommittal regarding implementation.Brian Kelly and John Donecker, directors of the upper and middle schools, respectively, agreed the studies are important and anything regarding student health should be considered.“Our school community is committed to studying this research and doing a thorough study of our scheduling practices in an effort to provide a high-quality education and experience for all of our students,” Donecker said.“During school hours we push and stretch our students to build relationships, develop skills and pursue academic learning. Any way we can continue to do this better is something we will research and look to improve in an effort to better the overall experience of our students.”Although many schools have not adopted the 8:30 a.m. or later start time, the reports suggest other ways to increase the hours of sleep they receive, including parents enforcing stricter rules on technology use before bed, setting a good example with their own sleep patterns and becoming educated on the impacts of sleep deprivation.