NSF Welcomes New Findings Showing Minneapolis Teens Sleeping More Due To Later School Start Times

Foundation Urges Educators to Put Teens' Bodies and School Clocks in Sync

National Sleep Foundation - September 6, 2001

A study of Minneapolis high schools to determine the impact of later start times clearly shows sleep to be a winner, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) said today.

In an effort to pay attention to the relationship between school clocks and teens' biological clocks, the Minneapolis School District, in 1997, changed high school start times from 7:15 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. It was hoped that giving teens more time to sleep would have many benefits. The change appears to be working.

A report released by the University of Minnesota's Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) found Minneapolis high school students using later school start times to good advantage, getting an average of one hour more sleep a night than students in high schools with earlier start times. Other benefits, including improved attendance rates, were also observed.

"We have known that inadequate sleep affects mood, concentration, memory and other measures of cognitive performance. But until the Minneapolis study, we did not know how changing the high school start time would directly affect students. These findings are a terrific indicator of how much benefit there may be to align school start times with the biological sleep patterns of teens, who get too little sleep when their school day starts too early, " said Richard L. Gelula, NSF's executive director.

Gelula noted that with each Minneapolis teen getting an average of five hours more sleep per week, there are immediate and long-term health, safety, educational and cognitive benefits. The change could have a strong impact on teen drivers. "Young drivers have the highest risk for fall-asleep crashes. That extra five hours per week could be enough to keep teens from falling asleep when they drive." Gelula said.

Sleep studies indicate adolescents need between 8.5 and 9.25 hours of sleep each night. NSF surveys show that during the school week, only 15 percent sleep 8.5 hours or more, and more than one-quarter sleep less than seven hours. Because of their physiological changes, adolescents tend to fall asleep and awaken later, which can find their body clocks in conflict with school clocks if classes begin at a time when teens want to be sleeping. The result is that too many teens come to school too sleepy to learn.

NSF's "Adolescent Sleep Needs and Patterns" provides basic information about adolescent sleep habits and consequences of insufficient sleep. When the report was released last year, NSF called on those responsible for the education of America's teens to pay closer attention to their sleep needs and make sure those needs are met. Praising the Minneapolis School District for their efforts, NSF is urging other school systems to follow suit. "The onus now should be on those who resist setting high school start times at a reasonable hour to explain why they don't think getting more sleep is good for growing teens," Gelula said.

"Adolescent Sleep Needs and Patterns" and other sleep-related information can be found on NSF's Web site, www.sleepfoundation.org.

Source: The National Sleep Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public health and safety by achieving greater understanding of sleep and sleep disorders, and by supporting public education, sleep-related research, and advocacy. NSF is based in Washington DC.