Students Perform Better When School Starts Later

By Alex in Baby & Kids on Jul 29, 2010 at 11:36 pm

The one thing I hated most about school was how early it started. I’ve always thought that my academic performance (and that of my friends) would improve tremendously had school just start at the crack of noon – and now, science has vindicated me!

Here’s a study by Brown University sleep researcher Judith Owens on how starting school just 30 minutes later could lead to huge improvements:

An eye-opening study says delaying high school starting times by just 30 minutes can reap big rewards for tired teens.
A small study at St. George’s School in Middletown, Rhode Island, says students there were more alert in class, expressed better moods, arrived to class on time, and even reported eating a healthier breakfast due to the later start.

"The results were stunning. There’s no other word to use," says Patricia Moss, academic dean at the boarding school where the study was done. Similar results have been found in some public schools that let teens start school late.

Researchers say there’s a reason why even 30 minutes can make a big difference. Teens tend to be in their deepest sleep around dawn – when they typically need to get up for school. Interrupting that sleep can leave them groggy, especially since they also tend to have trouble falling asleep before 11 p.m.

So why do schools start so early in the morning? You can blame the parents and their pesky jobs: Link (Photo: Shutterstock)


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  1. Erock
    Jul 30th, 2010 at 5:33 am

    It’s hard to concentate on calculus when your eyelids are still stuck together and the sun hasn’t come up yet.

  2. Shakespeare
    Jul 30th, 2010 at 8:13 am

    Consider this: If a teenager, instead of having to be in school by 7 (that’s the schedule where I live), gets to sleep in and start school at 11 a.m., not only will they likely sleep in (and get much needed shut-eye, since they are still at the growing stage where they need around 10 to 11 hours of sleep), but that also means classes won’t end until around 6 p.m. which means their parents will be home from work, and thus able to monitor their activities better.

    As it is where I live, the kids are pretty much free at 2 p.m., and they wander all over the streets until their parents get home.

    The elementary kids here have the later schedule… school starts at 9. Why not make the secondary schools later, instead of earlier? I know teens who get around 4-5 hours of sleep each night. Not good.

  3. Ashley
    Jul 30th, 2010 at 9:12 am

    I can’t stand waking up before dawn. It doesn’t matter how much sleep I get, if I wake up and it’s still dark out, I will be exhausted.

    I’ve heard it recommended that they switch the school starting times for elementary and high schools, because high schoolers need the time sleeping in.

  4. Kalel
    Jul 30th, 2010 at 10:09 am

    I’ve long been an advocate of ‘organic awakening’.

    Alarms clocks and such are not healthy.

  5. dr Howard
    Jul 30th, 2010 at 6:34 pm

    Why do schools start so early in the morning? So the kids can get home and feed the chickens. Why do kids get the summer off, so the kids can help with the harvest and bale hay. Schools schedules are still set up to accomodate 19th century agrarian lifestyles. Living like its 1895. Anytime anyone wants to make changes in schools, some old guy says that’s not the way they did it when I was a kid. If it was good enough for me, it is good enough for the kids today. So kids in Manhattan have to abide by the farm rules today; even though the nearest farm is 2 hours away. I have my doctorate in education and it drives me nuts. Can’t we at least join the industrial revolution age?

  6. Miike
    Jul 30th, 2010 at 7:22 pm

    I’m all in favor of more sleep for everyone!

  7. woop
    Jul 31st, 2010 at 5:29 am

    yeah, no. if i had had this during HS, i would have wanted to murder someone. I am a morning person, and always have been. I also graduated with a 4.0 and won a scholarship to university, so thanks for being sleepy, everyone else!

  8. Splint Chesthair
    Jul 31st, 2010 at 5:30 am

    If you want more sleep, can’t you just go to bed earlier? I mean, I get up at 5 every morning to go workout but I get 8 hours in. If you’re upset that you can’t go to bed at 1 and get up at 6 and feel rested, well, I don’t really feel sorry for you.

  9. bakedpotatoes
    Aug 1st, 2010 at 1:24 am

    Then graduate, get a job, start work at 0800 – well shit, wasn’t it great that your school taught you how to get up and get on with the day? No?


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