Students Perform Better When School Starts Later

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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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.
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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!
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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?
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