Starting high school later helps teens
Jacquelyn Cole in Scripps Howard Foundation Wire reports:
In studies of adolescent sleep patterns, Dr. Mary Carskadon of Brown University in Providence, R.I., found that melatonin, a hormone that controls sleep patterns, is released later during adolescence, making adhering to an early bedtime biologically difficult.
Splaingard said, “In a perfect world, they wouldn’t have to wake up until 9 or 10 a.m.”
Wilton’s initiative to change school hours began with its League of Women Voters.
Carole Kleinfeld, Zack’s mother and league vice president, said the issue was important to the parents because they saw how tired their children were.
For eight months, members talked to students, teachers, coaches, principals and sleep experts. They read Carskadon’s melatonin research.
Then they learned that school start times had been pushed back successfully in Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota’s research showed them that a later school start time brought a slight increase in grades, a significant increase in attendance and a significant decrease in the dropout rate.
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