School Start Times Research Articles

School start time delays and high school educational outcomes: Evidence from the START/LEARN study.

Delaying high school start times extends adolescents' nightly sleep, but it is less clear how it affects educational outcomes. We expect links between school start time delays and academic performance because getting enough sleep is a key input to the cognitive, health, and behavioral factors necessary for educational success. Thus, we evaluated how educational outcomes changed in the 2 years following a school start time delay. We analyzed 2153 adolescents (51% male, 49% female; mean age 15 at baseline) from START/LEARN, a cohort study of high school students in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, USA metropolitan area. Adolescents experienced either a school start time delay ("policy change schools") or consistently early school start times ("comparison schools"). We compared patterns of late arrivals, absences, behavior referrals, and grade point average (GPA) 1 year before (baseline, 2015-2016) and 2 years after (follow-up 1, 2016-2017 and follow-up 2, 2017-2018) the policy change using a difference-in-differences analysis. A school start time delay of 50-65 min led to three fewer late arrivals, one fewer absence, a 14% lower probability of behavior referral, and 0.07-0.17 higher GPA in policy change schools versus comparison schools. Effects were larger in the 2nd year of follow-up than in the 1st year of follow-up, and differences in absences and GPA emerged in the second year of follow-up only. Delaying high school start times is a promising policy intervention not only for improving sleep and health but for improving adolescents' performance in school.

School Attendance, Chronotype, and Day-of-the-Week Effect in Adolescent Male Basketball Players.

Adolescents' conflict between circadian rhythm and early school start time is more pronounced in evening chronotypes, who tend to reduce sleep duration during school days compensating during the free days by oversleeping (i.e., social jetlag). Cumulative weekly sleep debt may impair sport performance, which relies on physical and cognitive skills modulated by sleep. We hypothesized that chronotype predicts sport performance, and that it may interact with the day of the week. Moreover, given the role sleep plays in motor memory consolidation, we tested the hypothesis that school attendance, and the related chronic sleep deprivation, might be detrimental for participants in a training phase. Ninety-three adolescent male basketball players performed multiple free throw sessions (n = 7880) during both the school and holiday periods. Chronotype and its interaction with the day of the week significantly predicted shooting accuracy when attending school, but not on holidays. Evening types' performance gradually decreased from Monday to Friday. Participants with a more unstable performance (i.e., who did not complete the acquisition of the free throw motor scheme) worsened their accuracy when attending school. Our results suggest that the impact of chronotype and day of the week on sport performance is related to the presence of an externally imposed sleep/wake schedule and is consistent with evening types' increased likelihood of experiencing social jetlag. Possibly due to early school start time, attending school worsened the performance of participants in a training phase. Further investigations are required to assess whether reducing the mismatch between biological and social clocks might improve sport performance, along with other aspects of adolescents' life.

Sleep-in to stay well: addressing school start times for the health and wellbeing of teens in Aotearoa.

The under-acknowledged malleability of secondary school start times may be a lever towards addressing poor sleep, particularly the sleep deprivation that many adolescents living in Aotearoa New Zealand experience on a daily basis. Scrutinising morning school start times has not been prioritised in terms of a logical, modifiable way to counteract sleep deprivation in adolescents in Aotearoa. Importantly, later start times align with adolescents' natural sleep-wake biology that shifts at puberty to favour later bedtimes, meaning they naturally need to wake later in the morning. In this viewpoint we argue that a later school start time (no earlier than 9:45 am) every day for senior secondary school students is an attractive, non-stigmatising approach to address adolescent sleep. Increased sleep also has the potential to favourably impact multiple areas of adolescents' health and wellbeing, as well as school success. In fact, we argue that later school start times are a public health imperative to address the sleep and mental health issues faced by youth in Aotearoa today.

Late but Right on Time? School Start Times and Middle Grade Students’ Engagement and Achievement Outcomes in North Carolina

Purpose: We assess whether school start times predict the engagement and achievement outcomes of middle grades students. Our focus on middle grades is important because biological changes in sleep often begin when adolescents are in middle school and because middle school is a time when more students struggle academically. Research Methods/Approach: We use 6 years (2011–12 through 2016–17) of statewide administrative data from North Carolina to assess how school start times predict the school attendance, disciplinary records, and test scores of middle grades (6–8) students. We estimate a range of models—school fixed effect, student fixed effect, propensity score—and include a rich set of covariates to isolate the impact of start times. Findings: Our school engagement results are somewhat inconsistent but suggest that later start times predict a reduction in absences and suspensions. Later start times consistently predict higher test scores in mathematics and reading. Subgroup analyses return mixed results regarding which students benefit more from later middle school start times. Implications: Our results emphasize the broader connections between health and academic outcomes and indicate that policy makers should delay start times for middle grades students. States can instigate start time changes by incentivizing districts to delay or requiring that districts delay start times. Districts can independently delay their start times. In doing so, it is important that district officials take time to build support for the policy change and think comprehensively about the start times of all—elementary, middle, and high—district schools.

Short Sleep Duration in School-Age Children: Differential Factors on Weekdays and Weekends

ABSTRACT Objectives To quantify school-age children’s sleep and parent-associated factors on weekdays and weekends in Singapore, and investigate school-related and parent-related factors associated with short sleep. Methods In an online survey, 251 parents with a child aged 7–12 y in Singapore reported their child’s sleep duration and school start time. Parent-related factors including sleep hygiene (e.g., parent-set bedtime), sleep priority (the amount of sleep respondents allowed their children to trade for other activities), and both parents’ sleep durations, were also reported. Results The prevalence of short sleep among the children was 64.5% on weekdays and 19.5% on weekends. Children’s sleep duration increased from 8.42 h on weekdays to 9.45 h on weekends (p < .001). Relative to weekdays, on weekends, parents showed similar increases in sleep durations (p < .001), imposed poorer sleep hygiene on their children (reduced likelihood of setting bedtimes and increased pre-bedtime electronic device use; p < .001), and allowed their children to trade more sleep for interacting with family and friends, social media, gaming, and TV / videos (p < .001). Shorter sleep duration in children was significantly associated with earlier school start time (B = 0.80, p = .02) and poorer sleep hygiene on weekdays (B = 0.16, p < .001), but lower sleep priority (B = 0.05, p = .002) and shorter parental sleep duration on weekends (maternal: B = 0.18, p < .001, paternal: B = 0.17, p = .002). Conclusions Delaying school start times may be effective in increasing school-age children’s sleep duration on weekdays, while family-based interventions designed to enhance sleep hygiene, priority of sleep over other activities, and parents’ sleep durations can benefit children’s sleep duration on both weekdays and weekends.

O019 The Association between Later Circadian Timing and Higher Depressive Symptoms in Early Adolescence is Ameliorated by Longer Sleep Duration

Abstract Background Circadian phase and sleep-wake timing delays are hallmark adolescent development features. These delays contribute to shorter sleep duration in combination with early school schedules. Both delayed circadian phase and insufficient sleep are associated with increased prevalence/severity of mood problems. This study examined associations between circadian phase, sleep duration, and mood in early adolescence. Methods 157 Year 7 Australian students (M±SD=12.81±0.40 years, 56.7% female) wore actiwatches and completed sleep diaries for two weeks in school term. Circadian phase was measured via salivary dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) on the final Friday of sleep monitoring. PROMIS Paediatric Depression and Anxiety measured depression/anxiety symptom severity. Sleep duration/efficiency were calculated using actigraphy and self-reports. Multiple linear regression quantified the relationships between sleep duration and efficiency and circadian phase and mood (depression/anxiety) associations, adjusting for sex. Results DLMO occurred at the expected time for early adolescents [continuous decimal time; M±SD=20.52±1.20; range:17.52-24.03]. Sleep duration (p=.03), but not sleep efficiency (p=.89), moderated associations between DLMO and depression (but not anxiety; p-values&amp;gt;.08). Simple slope analyses showed that in individuals with shorter average sleep duration, a one-hour circadian phase delay was associated with 1.84 t-score increase in depressive symptom severity (p=.03). These associations were non-significant in individuals with longer average sleep duration (p=.44). Conclusion Although delayed circadian phase is a developmental norm, its association with increased depressive symptom severity was ameliorated in young adolescents who obtained longer sleep duration. Addressing sleep duration, a modifiable protective factor (e.g., by delaying school start times), may yield mood-related benefits for adolescents.

Impact of Changing School Start Times on Teacher Sleep Health and Daytime Functioning.

The benefits of delaying school start times for secondary students are well-established. However, no previous study has considered how changing school start times impacts sleep and daytime functioning for K-12 teachers. Teachers in a large suburban school district completed 3 annual surveys (pre-change n=1687, post-change n=1857, follow-up n=1812) assessing sleep and daytime functioning. With delayed start times, high school teachers had later rise times (high school [HS]: 28 minutes, middle school [MS]: 14 minutes), increased sleep duration (HS: 22 minutes, MS: 13 minutes), and improved daytime functioning. Improvements for middle school teachers were noted but were not statistically significant. With earlier start times, elementary teachers reported earlier bedtimes (9minutes) and wake times (9minutes), with no changes in sleep duration or daytime functioning. Today's school health policies often focus on wellness. Findings from this study reveal that the policy of healthy school start times can have a significant, positive impact on adults who teach in later-starting secondary schools. Later school start times for secondary teachers provide greater parity with their elementary colleagues in terms of sleep opportunity. This study extends previous findings on how the policy of later secondary school start times improves the health and well-being of adolescents, highlighting that healthy start times contribute to increased sleep opportunity for MS and HS teachers and improved daytime functioning for HS teachers, with changed start times having no significant negative effect on elementary school teachers.

Changing school start times: Impact on extracurricular activities and employment

Sufficient sleep duration is associated with student health and wellbeing, but early secondary school start times limit students' sleep opportunity. Despite recommendations that all middle and high schools adopt a healthy school start time policy, one barrier to policy implementation is concerns about the impact on student participation in activities and employment. This study examined student extracurricular activity participation and employment before and after the implementation of healthy secondary school start times. Approximately 24,000 students/year (grades 3–11) completed three annual surveys (pre-change, post-change, follow-up) measuring sleep-wake patterns, extracurricular activity participation, and employment. Following the implementation of an earlier school start time, before-school activity participation decreased for elementary school students, but after-school participation was similar across years. Following the implementation of later school start times, there was a small decrease in after-school activity participation for middle and high school students (~3–4%). Equally important, middle and high school students reported significantly increased sleep duration with later start times, regardless of participation in before- or after-school activities and employment. Study findings support the recommendation for healthy school start time policies.

COVID-19-lockdown delayed sleep timing in Tyrolean teachers

ABSTRACT Delayed school start times improve students’ sleep, but little is known about its impact on teachers. The Austrian COVID-19 lockdown, enabling teachers to choose their working hours, created the unique opportunity to test the impact of a forced home office on Tyrolean teachers’ sleep. From April to May 2020, a cross-sectional and complete online survey was implemented with 2,314 Tyrolean teachers participating. Bedtimes and wake times on workdays and on weekends were measured before the lockdown (retrospectively) and during the lockdown. Additional variables were calculated: time spent in bed on workdays/weekends, social jetlag, and sleep loss. During the lockdown, as compared to the period before it, the teachers reported later bedtimes and rise times, longer sleep duration on workdays, decreased workday sleep loss, and reduced social jetlag. These effects occurred predominantly due to a delay in rise times on workdays and were enhanced in younger teachers. Changing to a home office during lockdown induced a robust drift towards later hours on workdays, indicating that teachers benefit from delayed school start times by aligning their workday sleep habits to their biological sleep needs. In conclusion, not only adolescent students but also teachers benefit from a delayed school start.

Policy Analytics in Public School Operations

Optimizing School Operations, Holistically School districts in the United States face a variety of operational problems, often treated in isolation due to their inherent complexity: for instance, school assignment and school transportation are rarely considered jointly. We develop an optimization-based approach to three key problems in school operations: school assignment, school bus routing, and school start time selection. Our methodology improves upon the state of the art in two ways: by leveraging a simplifying assumption of fixed route arrival times to tractably optimize school bus schedules and school start times simultaneously, and by proposing a postimprovement heuristic to jointly optimize assignment, bus routing, and scheduling. We evaluate our approach on a practical case study.

Early Birds in Elementary School? School Start Times and Outcomes for Younger Students

While research supports later start times for secondary schools, there is little evidence regarding start times for elementary schools. We address this gap with a statewide examination of elementary schools and a quasi-experimental analysis of an urban district that recently changed its elementary start times. We find that earlier start times predict less sleep for students. Regarding academic outcomes, our estimates are small in magnitude and suggest that earlier elementary start times have near-zero effects. Earlier start times predict a slight increase in absences and modestly higher math scores, especially for traditionally disadvantaged students. In districts that need to stagger start times, it may be advisable for elementary schools to start earlier to accommodate later secondary school start times.

Psychosocial factors related to sleep in adolescents and their willingness to participate in the development of a healthy sleep intervention: a focus group study

BackgroundOver the last decades, adolescents’ sleep has deteriorated, suggesting the need for effective healthy sleep interventions. To develop such interventions, it is important to first gather insight into the possible factors related to sleep. Moreover, previous research has indicated that chances of intervention effectivity could be increased by actively involving adolescents when developing such interventions. This study examined psychosocial factors related to sleep in adolescents and investigated adolescents’ willingness to participate in the development of a healthy sleep intervention.MethodsNine focus group interviews were conducted with seventy-two adolescents (63.9% girls, 14.8 (± 1.0) years) using a standardized interview guide. Interviews were audio-recorded and thematic content analysis was performed using Nvivo 11.ResultsAdolescents showed limited knowledge concerning sleep guidelines, sleep hygiene and the long-term consequences of sleep deficiency, but they demonstrated adequate knowledge of the short-term consequences. Positive attitudes towards sleep were outweighed by positive attitudes towards other behaviors such as screen time. In addition, adolescents reported leisure activities, the use of smartphones and television, high amounts of schoolwork, early school start time and excessive worrying as barriers for healthy sleep. Perceived behavioral control towards changing sleep was reported to be low and norms about sufficient sleep among peers were perceived as negative. Although some adolescents indicated that parental rules provoke feelings of frustration, others indicated these have a positive influence on their sleep. Finally, adolescents emphasized that it would be important to allow students to participate in the development process of healthy sleep interventions at school, although adult supervision would be necessary.ConclusionFuture interventions promoting healthy sleep in adolescents could focus on enhancing knowledge of sleep guidelines, sleep hygiene and the consequences of sleep deficiency, and on enhancing perceived behavioral control towards changing sleep. Interventions could also focus on prioritizing positive sleep attitudes over positive attitudes towards screen time, finding solutions for barriers towards healthy sleep and creating a positive perceived norm regarding healthy sleep. Involving adolescents in intervention development could lead to intervention components that match their specific needs and are more attractive for them.

A Naturalistic Actigraphic Assessment of Changes in Adolescent Sleep, Light Exposure, and Activity Before and During COVID-19.

The majority of high school-aged adolescents obtain less than the recommended amount of sleep per night, in part because of imposed early school start times. Utilizing a naturalistic design, the present study evaluated changes in objective measurements of sleep, light, and physical activity before (baseline) and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (during COVID-19) in a group of US adolescents. Sixteen adolescents (aged 15.9 ± 1.2 years, 68.8% female) wore an actigraphy monitor for 7 consecutive days during an in-person week of school before the pandemic (October 2018-February 2020) and again during the pandemic when instruction was performed virtually (May 2020). Delayed weekday sleep onset times of 1.66 ± 1.33 h (p < 0.001) and increased sleep duration of 1 ± 0.87 h (p < 0.001) were observed during COVID-19 compared with baseline. Average lux was significantly higher during COVID-19 compared with baseline (p < 0.001). Weekday physical activity parameters were not altered during COVID-19 compared with baseline, except for a delay in the midpoint of the least active 5 h (p value = 0.044). This analysis provides insight into how introducing flexibility into the traditional school schedule might influence sleep in adolescents.

School Start Times: Later Is Better

School Start Times: Later Is Better

Later school start time is associated with better academic performance, sleep-wake rhythm characteristics, and eating behavior

ABSTRACT There are numerous studies which show that an early school start time has a negative impact on the sleep, well-being, and academic performance of students. There is not enough information on the association between school start time and eating disorders, however: the disruption of the circadian rhythm is known to be a risk factor for eating disorders. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between school start time (SST) and the sleep, well-being, academic performance, and eating behavior of children and adolescents. The study was conducted in April and May 2021 in two regions of Russia: the Komi Republic and Yekaterinburg. The online study involved the anonymous and voluntary participation of 6571 students in grades 6–11 (mean age: 14.5 ± 1.6 years, 60.1% female), who have morning classes. All participants were divided into three groups according to SST: 08:00 (n = 3661), 08:30 (n = 2020), and 09:00 (n = 890). Each participant of the study indicated their place of residence, SST, age, sex, height, weight, academic performance, and filled out the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire, the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, and the Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children. As a result of multiple regression analysis, it was shown that schoolchildren with SST of 09:00 wake up at a later time on school days (B = 0.432; ΔR2 = 0.039), sleep more (B = 0.293; ΔR2 = 0.004), have less pronounced social jetlag (B = −0.223; ΔR2 = 0.005) and sleep loss (B = −0.292; ΔR2 = 0.005), and higher academic performance (B = 0.113; ΔR2 = 0.003) than schoolchildren with SST of 08:00. As a result of logistic regression analysis, it was found that the frequency of the detection of food addiction is ~30% lower in schoolchildren with SST of 09:00 (OR = 0.690; 95% CI = 0.485–0.981) than in their peers with SST of 08:00. Thus, an overly early SST in Russia has a negative impact on the sleep function, academic performance, and eating behavior of children and adolescents.

Effects of Sleep Deprivation and Early School Start Times on Adolescent Health

As sleep deprivation is a general public health issue reported by the Center for Disease Control, it becomes an even more detrimental problem in adolescent years with potential consequences of physical, mental, and academic impairments leading to chronic health issues such as obesity, metabolic dysfunction, and increased cardiovascular morbidity into adulthood. The reasons behind the epidemic of insufficient sleep during adolescence are complex and multifactorial which include the biological and central changes in sleep regulation in teenage years as well as early high school start times (SST) determined by state legislation and local school districts. This important public health issue of sleep loss in adolescents has led increased research and policy changes about the ideal SST. Studies have shown that later SSTs are associated with positive student outcomes, including improved academic performance, mental health, and physical health, along with increased public safety and long-term economic gains. In light of this scientific evidence, the average teenager is best suited to wake at 8:00 AM or later. In this review article, we aim to summarize the literature and raise awareness on long-term effects of insufficient sleep in teenagers, school start times (and its potential delay), as well as general health recommendations.

Delayed high school start times and graduation and attendance rates over 4 years: the impact of race and socioeconomics.

The current study was designed to examine if improvements in high school graduation and attendance rates persist 4 years after start times later than 8:30 am. Socioeconomic status and race were accounted for in the graduation analysis. School-wide attendance and graduation records (n = 28 schools) from 1999-2017 were analyzed in August of 2021 using a repeated-measures analysis of variance at 5 points in time, 1 year predelay and 4 consecutive years postdelay start times. Graduation rates for students in grade 12 (n > 47,000) after postdelay year 4 increased from 80% to 90% (P < .001) and attendance rates in grades 9-12 (n > 80,000) improved from 90% to 93% (P = .012). Attendance and graduation rates for all students improved after 4 years following a delayed start. Economically disadvantaged students and Black students showed significant changes in graduation rates postdelay year 4 and White students significantly improved postdelay years 2, 3, and 4. Adolescent students, especially economically and racially disadvantaged students, have a vulnerability for obtaining adequate sleep. Delaying high school start times is a cost-effective intervention that could promote sufficient sleep and boost graduation and attendance rates. McKeever PM, Dodd R, O'Sullivan DM. Delayed high school start times and graduation and attendance rates over 4 years: the impact of race and socioeconomics. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(11):2537-2543.

The association between school start times, school day sleep duration and social jetlag among Norwegian high school students. Results from a large-scale, cross-sectional study

The association between school start times, school day sleep duration and social jetlag among Norwegian high school students. Results from a large-scale, cross-sectional study

Association between school start time affected by extracurricular activities and sleep duration: national questionary survey in Japan

Association between school start time affected by extracurricular activities and sleep duration: national questionary survey in Japan

Multiple positive outcomes of a later school starting time for adolescents

ObjectiveWe tested the effect of later school start time (LSST) by 1 hour during 1 week on sleep, sleepiness, and mood profile using within-subject design. DesignA within-subject 3-weeks-long interventional study. A baseline week with school starting at 7:30 AM (week A), followed by an intervention week with school starting at 8:30 AM (week B), and a recovery week with school start time back to 7:30 AM (week C). Mixed model for repeated measures analysis was applied to test for the LSST effect between weeks. SettingA private high school with high level of socioeconomic status. ParticipantsForty-eight adolescents from 3 different high school years. MeasurementsParticipants were invited to wear actigraphs continuously during the 3 experimental weeks. Somnolence was obtained every school day twice, at arrival and before departure of school. Sleep quality and mood profile were evaluated by standard measures by the end of each school week, resulting in 3 repeated measures for each variable. ResultsThirty-eight adolescents completed the study. Adolescents woke up later during week B (7:42 ± 00:30) in comparison to weeks A (6:54 ± 00:12) and C (6:46 ± 00:15) (p < .001), with no significant change on sleep onset between weeks (p = .657), resulting in a longer sleep duration in week B (p < .001). Significant improvements on sleepiness and mood profile were also reported during week B. ConclusionsStarting school later was effective in improving multiple aspects from sleep patterns, subjective sleepiness, and mood profile.