Description: In the early 1990s, researchers from Brown University (1) and the University of São Paulo (1.5) found initial evidence that circadian biology drives the delayed sleep-wake patterns of adolescents. (1, 1.5) Subsequent studies have confirmed puberty’s onset marks the beginning of a phase shift, with adolescents going to bed later and rising later than younger children. (2, 2.5, 3, 4) Typically…
In the early 1990s , researchers from Brown University ( 1 ) and the University of São Paulo ( 1.5 ) found initial evidence that circadian biology drives the delayed sleep-wake patterns of adolescents. ( 1 , 1.5 ) Subsequent studies have confirmed puberty’s onset marks the beginning of a phase shift, with adolescents going to bed later and rising later than younger children. ( 2 , 2.5 , 3 , 4 ) Typically adolescents are unable to fall asleep at earlier times and sleep in later to get the sleep they nee
On April 4, 1994, physicians began advising school leaders to “eliminate early starting hours for teenagers.” ( 10 ) Sleep experts urge a delay in morning classes until 8:30 a.m., or later, for middle ( 2 , 13 ) and high school students. ( 2 , 11 , 12 , 14 , 15 ) Many preeminent scientists propose much later starting hours for older teens since the magnitude of the phase delay and the hours of sleep lost increase as children progress through adolescence. (See, e.g., Appen. C , infra . ) Most administrators
More than 85 percent of public junior and senior high schools in the United States begin morning classes before 8:30 a.m., ( 20.5 ) with nearly 43 percent starting during the 7 o’clock hour, ( 20.5 ) while melatonin still pressures adolescents to sleep. ( 2 , 3 , 12 , 21 , 22 , 24 ) The vast majority of teenagers attending early starting schools meet the morning bell in a sleep-deprived state. ( 2 , 6 , 8 , 12 , 23 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ) “The conseque