If you've raised a teen, you know all too well how hard it can be to get them out of bed in the morning.
Typical parenting gripes aside, there has been a long-standing debate over whether early school days are actually unhealthy for adolescents, because it forces them to function academically without enough sleep.
Now, a bill working its way through the California State Legislature is advocating for a later start time. SB 328 would mandate that all public middle and high schools begin their first class period at 8:30 AM or later.
Supporters of the bill and its author, Sen. Anthony Portantino, point to research showing how teen sleep deprivation is linked to poor academic performance as well as a host of other emotional and behavioral problems.
"The reduction of rates of ADHD, obesity is reduced... Occupational injury, clinical depression, suicide… Car accidents, and also graduation rates go up among high school students when we have healthy school start times," said Alison Chopel, Director of California Adolescent Health Collaborative, in her testimony to the Senate Education Committee.
But opponents such as the California School Boards Association see serious obstacles to making this a reality.
Speaking before the Senate Education Committee, legislative advocate Nancy Chaires Espinoza argued that the logistics required to adopt a new start time would put an unjust burden on families.
"It leaves parents with two choices. One: You – under this bill – would leave children as young as 11 years old responsible for getting themselves to school," said Chaires Espinoza. "Option number two is dropping off your child at school at the time you can drop them off, which is the time you’re dropping them off now, when there may not be anyone there to supervise them. Both of those options present a safety concern for children."
SB 328 made it through the State Senate's Education Committee and is scheduled to be heard by appropriations today.
But what is the science behind SB 328's claim that a later start time will significantly help adolescent students?
To find out, Take Two's A Martinez spoke with Cora Collette Breuner, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Adolescence. Breuner also teaches at the University of Washington, and practices at Seattle Children's Hospital.
How much sleep do teens/preteens need and why can't they just go to bed earlier?
The problem with adolescents and the developing brain, is that they can't just fall asleep at a certain time like they used to when they were infants and toddlers. The biologic surge of melatonin and other neurochemicals that promote sleep doesn't occur until 10 or 11 PM as children get older in their teen and preteen years and into adulthood. It's just impossible to get to sleep at that time. Their brains are still working. Their bodies are still working. They can' t settle themselves down. And if we really do push the 8 to 10 hour rule – and that's the amount of sleep all of us need , especially those in their developing years.. Without that proper amount of sleep, extreme surges occur in kids who suffer from depression, worsening ADHD, obesity, and of course, inattentiveness, which leads to car accidents before and after school.
What happens to a sleep-deprived, teen brain?
What we do know from brain physiology is that surges of different chemicals and neurological pathways don't work as well. The sympathetic nervous system surges and that's what controls our heart rate and blood pressure. These neurochemicals need to work and get in sync during the time of physiologic body rest so that the brain can do its job and recuperate from whatever happened during the day to prepare it for the next day. And if you don't get enough sleep, this doesn't happen.
How could sleep deprivation contribute to obesity?
Especially in our kids who have a tendency towards obesity and pubertal changes in their thalamus and hypothalamus– if that system isn't allowed to function and rest... Then there's some mix-up in the brain confusing hunger with fatigue. So, sometimes kids might be tired but they confuse it with hunger.
Seattle schools moved their start time to 8:30 AM. Any benefits so far?
We're already noticing a reduction in rates of motor vehicle accidents which is a very big problem in adolescents driving or coming home from school. Or even just in the evening, when they're fatigued driving back and forth to their sporting events or work. We also are noticing less absenteeism in school. If they're too tired and they just can't show up for a 7 or 6:45 AM start, they just don't go at all. So, we're noticing a decrease in both absenteeism as well as tardiness.
We're not that far into this change to actually really note a decrease in depression or thoughts of self harm, or even suicide. So, we're not there yet. But there are some trends we're noticing in our patient populations which does reflect that... But we're pretty new into this.
Quotes edited for clarity and brevity