Many parents have pushed for a later start to the school day for teenagers, with limited success. But parents just got a boost from the nations pediatricians, who say that making middle and high schoolers start classes before 8:30 a.m. threatens childrens health, safety and academic performance. We want to promote safety with kids, says Dr. Cora Breuner, an adolescent medicine specialist at Seattle Childrens Hospital. We truly believe that our teenagers are getting six to seven hours of sleep a night, and they need eight to 10. On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement calling on school districts to move start times to 8:30 a.m. or later for middle and high schools, so that students can get at least 8 1/2 hours of sleep a night. Its making a very powerful statement about the importance of sleep to health, says Dr. Judith Owens, a sleep researcher at Childrens National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., who wrote a review of the scientific evidence on teen sleep needs that accompanied the recommendation. School start time is a cost-effective way to address this public health issue. Parents Of Sleep-Deprived Teens Push For Later School Start Times But its a change that most school districts have yet to embrace. Right now just 15 percent of high schools start at 8:30 or later, and 40 percent start before 8 a.m. The doctors know theyre leaping into an already tense conflict between parents and school districts. Its been fraught with controversy, she tells Shots. Its horrifically challenging to move these start schedules up and back.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 01:15:46 +0000