Statement from producer Vicki Abeles and the Race to Nowhere team:

The National Association of School Nurses and the Society of Pediatric Nurses have now joined forces with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in a crucial policy recommendation: middle and high schools should align with teens’ biological sleep cycles by starting at 8:30 a.m. or later.

This move follows a tide of research that underscores just how pressing the issue of chronic sleep deprivation is for teenagers nationwide. Race to Nowhere applauds our country’s doctors and nurses for pointing out the compelling relationship between school schedules and student health.

We’ve heard it repeatedly from students, educators, and parents across the country: teens are exhausted. There are dozens of factors that contribute to teen sleep loss--too many extracurricular activities, too many hours of homework, and a high-stress academic environment. But one factor stands out among these: many middle and high schools begin the school day at 7 or 7:30 a.m.

As the AAP points out, research shows that early start times simply don’t make sense. Kids’ natural sleep-wake cycles shift up to two hours later once they hit puberty. If they must wake up at 5:30 or 6 am in order to make it to school on time, they’re often losing valuable hours of rest. According to a poll from the National Sleep Foundation, 87 percent of high schoolers aren’t getting adequate sleep, 59 percent report feeling tired during the school day, and 28 percent say they fell asleep at school at least once a week during the last two weeks. Chronic sleep deprivation takes a particularly strong toll on the adolescent body and brain. Not only does it affect focus, memory, and academic achievement, but it can lead to an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and obesity, as well as fatigue-related accidents and injuries.

Other national leaders have joined this call, too. The Education Commission of the States also recommends later school start times, citing decades of research. The National Education Association’s “Adequate Rest” resolution supports school schedules that follow research-based recommendations. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D- Calif.) introduced legislation in March 2015 that would direct the Secretary of Education to study the effects of later start times on high school students’ health and performance.

The good news is that many schools and districts have already taken up the charge. From Long Beach to Denver to Elmira, schools are putting student well-being first and are seeing great results. A University of Minnesota study from 2014, for instance, points to the many positive impacts of pushing back school start times from 7:15 a.m. to 8:40 a.m., such as improved attendance rates, better grades, and fewer students who report feeling depressed.

We at Race to Nowhere continue to champion student well-being on multiple levels. We call on our communities to make more time for downtime through our Ban Busy campaign. We offer parents, educators and students ideas for making more time for sleep through our Sleep Tool Kit. And we’ve joined a growing movement of educators and families advocating for a saner, more holistic approach to achievement in schools. Overscheduling, overtesting, and overloading our students isn’t teaching them to be better learners or preparing them for college and careers; it’s making them sick.

Starting school an hour or more later in the morning is one crucial piece of the solution toward a more balanced school culture. We commend the AAP, the NASN, and the SPN for presenting the public with the tough facts about this critical issue, as we’re all advocating for the same thing: our children’s health.