Back-To-School: Teens Don't Get Enough Sleep Due To Early Classes, Study Finds

A study shows that the average American teen doesn't get enough sleep, and schools have to start at a later time to meet that need, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

According to the CDC, sleep-deprived adolescents are more likely to be overweight, physically lazy and depressed, engaging in unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs. They also have poor academic performance.

Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a policy statement that urged schools to modify or change school start times to help teens achieve adequate sleep, which will help improve their health, academic performance and quality of life.

However, the study finds that among an estimated 37,900 public middle, high and combined schools, only 17.7 percent started school 8:30 a.m. or later. This simply means that adolescent students in schools find it hard to meet the 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep they need daily.

According to Today, many argue that all that is needed is putting teens to sleep earlier. However, research shows that it isn't easy to do so. 

Anne G. Wheaton, one of the authors of the study published in the CDC, says that teenagers are more likely to sleep later than other people belonging to other age groups. 

The study further states that this change in sleeping times, although biological, are also affected with other factors. Wheaton says that the biological change in sleeping time is often combined with "poor sleep hygiene" such as irregular bedtimes and media use (e.g., mobile phones, televisions) in the bedroom. The late sleeping time combined with early school start times results in a significant portion of the adolescent populace, who lack adequate sleep.

Today reports that some school districts like Montgomery County, Md., would like to follow the recommendation of the AAP. However, they found that the change would need a whopping $21 million a year.

"These are really tough budget times for school districts around the nation," a spokeswoman for the district said to the news outlet.

The CDC study further states that schools, who seek to delay their start times, face more hindrances aside from increased transportation costs: potential traffic congestion for students and faculty, school bus scheduling difficulties, after-school activities schedules as well as a lack of community education about the importance of sleep.

The AAP further adds that measures to combat sleepiness won't help. Naps, extended sleep on weekends and caffeine consumption may help counter sleepiness temporarily, but they cannot substitute for a healthy sleep pattern.

AAP suggests establishing good sleeping discipline, and parents are advised to help their kids develop a consistent sleeping time even on weekends.