While the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends an 8:30 a.m. school start time, some have questioned if that would actually lead to more sleep for teens. Would teens stay up later because they had a later start time?
A study by researchers at the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience in Singapore found that a 45-minute later start time in an all-girls school in Singapore resulted in more sleep for seventh through 10th-grade
students nine months after the shift. The students also were more alert and had a greater sense of well-being.
“The majority of students, teachers and parents were supportive of the schedule change,” the researchers noted in the study, published in the April 10 issue of Sleep. “Thus, in a culture where academic achievement outweighs the importance of sleep, starting school later is feasible and can lead to sustainable benefits.”
