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School children are sleeping on average 1 hour less than theirs peers did 50 years ago. This has been driven by earlier and earlier school start times. Sleep de

School children are sleeping on average 1 hour less than theirs peers did 50 years ago. This has been driven by earlier and earlier school start times. Sleep deprivation in school age children has been linked to lower test scores, lower knowledge retention, higher rates of "trouble making". Really happy to see these laws getting put in place!

briandear 7y ago
> This has been driven by earlier and earlier school start times What about later and later bed times?
- Retric 7y ago
  If both where true you would see more than 1 hour of lost sleep.
- johnpowell 7y ago
  When I was kid I took apart my tv to disconnect the speakers and wire up my walkman headphones. This was so I could put a blanket over my head and tv and watch some Letterman at night. My mom would notice if there was light and noise coming from my room after bedtime. Now the kids have phones. If I had a phone and internet access I would have never slept.
  - jupp0r 7y ago
    Phones have parental controls. Learning how to hack those is a worthwhile skill to learn, too.
- cgriswald 7y ago
  Humans get tired from being up for a certain number of hours and also from waning daylight. In teens, both of these are delayed relative to adults and children. You can send a teen to bed early but their bodies aren’t trying to sleep.
- Alupis 7y ago
  > What about later and later bed times? This is the real factor. When I was a kid - it was in bed, lights out and go to sleep at 9pm the latest during school nights - strictly enforced by my parents. Now I regularly see small children (< 10 years old) out at the store past 10pm or 11pm on school nights.
  - driverdan 7y ago
    I highly doubt you went to bed at 9pm when you were in high school.
    - Alupis 7y ago
      Junior and Senior year, I had a lot more freedom - yes, but not in the 5th grade. I also had my own car Junior/Senior year and drove myself to school... and if I was late I had to deal with the consequences both at school and at home. I also had a "Zero Period" starting at 7am - so ya, I still went to bed pretty early, even when it was my decision.
  - arcticbull 7y ago
    This is also anecdotal. While it will of course vary from person to person, it's been conclusively shown teenagers circadian rhythms are shifted later than adults. Sleeping later and waking up later in teenagers is biological and it doesn't do anyone good to fight it.
    - Alupis 7y ago
      While what you say is true, does pushing the start time of class back 30 minutes or 1 hour make any difference? I'm skeptical. When I was a teen, on weekends with no where to be, I'd regularly sleep until noon, 1pm, sometimes 2pm or later. Should we push school back until, say, 4pm through 10pm-12am? Doubtful that's good either. On some level, it teaches kids that they have to be someplace at a certain time, regardless of what they might want... You know, obligations and responsibility.
      - 7y ago
- tylerl 7y ago
  Bed times aren't mandated by a government board. School start times are. Also, later school start times have in other states led to better academic performance, better behavior, etc., independent of any control for bedtime. This decision has no downside. It's like mandating that hot dog vendors not sell disguised dog turds.
  - ryanmercer 7y ago
    >Also, later school start times have in other states led to better academic performance, better behavior, etc., independent of any control for bedtime. And how much of that is because kids are staying up to watch the Walking Talking After Dead Chat Show that start at 9, 10, 11pm or because they start getting tired playing Fortnight that late instead of learning how to fall asleep naturally and thus starting school later lets them stay up later and still get sleep?
Camas 7y ago
This true for other countries or just the US?
- quickthrower2 7y ago
  Absolutely not for UK & Australia.
ryanmercer 7y ago
>School children are sleeping on average 1 hour less than theirs peers did 50 years ago. And how much of that is due to - Social media - Gaming - SMS/MMS/Marco Polo/etc ... I'm guessing quite a bit. Until I was 12 you were in bed, lights out, no tv by 8pm PERIOD for me and many of my friends. Past that if I wasn't in bed at 10 it was "why aren't you in bed? Turn the computer and TV off and if I pick up the phone you better not be on it!"
- creatornator 7y ago
  I'm 22 right now--when I was in middle and high school, I didn't have TV, video games, a phone, or a computer. But I still had to get up at 6 to get to school on time. Combined with late nights doing homework, it was miserable. This opinion about gaming and media is such a "kids these days" meme. I was mature enough to be capable of self-regulation but that didn't help the sleep deprivation due to early school start times.

briandear 7y ago

> This has been driven by earlier and earlier school start times What about later and later bed times?

Retric 7y ago
If both where true you would see more than 1 hour of lost sleep.
johnpowell 7y ago
When I was kid I took apart my tv to disconnect the speakers and wire up my walkman headphones. This was so I could put a blanket over my head and tv and watch some Letterman at night. My mom would notice if there was light and noise coming from my room after bedtime. Now the kids have phones. If I had a phone and internet access I would have never slept.
- jupp0r 7y ago
  Phones have parental controls. Learning how to hack those is a worthwhile skill to learn, too.
cgriswald 7y ago
Humans get tired from being up for a certain number of hours and also from waning daylight. In teens, both of these are delayed relative to adults and children. You can send a teen to bed early but their bodies aren’t trying to sleep.
Alupis 7y ago
> What about later and later bed times? This is the real factor. When I was a kid - it was in bed, lights out and go to sleep at 9pm the latest during school nights - strictly enforced by my parents. Now I regularly see small children (< 10 years old) out at the store past 10pm or 11pm on school nights.
- driverdan 7y ago
  I highly doubt you went to bed at 9pm when you were in high school.
  - Alupis 7y ago
    Junior and Senior year, I had a lot more freedom - yes, but not in the 5th grade. I also had my own car Junior/Senior year and drove myself to school... and if I was late I had to deal with the consequences both at school and at home. I also had a "Zero Period" starting at 7am - so ya, I still went to bed pretty early, even when it was my decision.
- arcticbull 7y ago
  This is also anecdotal. While it will of course vary from person to person, it's been conclusively shown teenagers circadian rhythms are shifted later than adults. Sleeping later and waking up later in teenagers is biological and it doesn't do anyone good to fight it.
  - Alupis 7y ago
    While what you say is true, does pushing the start time of class back 30 minutes or 1 hour make any difference? I'm skeptical. When I was a teen, on weekends with no where to be, I'd regularly sleep until noon, 1pm, sometimes 2pm or later. Should we push school back until, say, 4pm through 10pm-12am? Doubtful that's good either. On some level, it teaches kids that they have to be someplace at a certain time, regardless of what they might want... You know, obligations and responsibility.
    - 7y ago
tylerl 7y ago
Bed times aren't mandated by a government board. School start times are. Also, later school start times have in other states led to better academic performance, better behavior, etc., independent of any control for bedtime. This decision has no downside. It's like mandating that hot dog vendors not sell disguised dog turds.
- ryanmercer 7y ago
  >Also, later school start times have in other states led to better academic performance, better behavior, etc., independent of any control for bedtime. And how much of that is because kids are staying up to watch the Walking Talking After Dead Chat Show that start at 9, 10, 11pm or because they start getting tired playing Fortnight that late instead of learning how to fall asleep naturally and thus starting school later lets them stay up later and still get sleep?

Camas 7y ago

This true for other countries or just the US?

quickthrower2 7y ago
Absolutely not for UK & Australia.

ryanmercer 7y ago

>School children are sleeping on average 1 hour less than theirs peers did 50 years ago. And how much of that is due to - Social media - Gaming - SMS/MMS/Marco Polo/etc ... I'm guessing quite a bit. Until I was 12 you were in bed, lights out, no tv by 8pm PERIOD for me and many of my friends. Past that if I wasn't in bed at 10 it was "why aren't you in bed? Turn the computer and TV off and if I pick up the phone you better not be on it!"

creatornator 7y ago
I'm 22 right now--when I was in middle and high school, I didn't have TV, video games, a phone, or a computer. But I still had to get up at 6 to get to school on time. Combined with late nights doing homework, it was miserable. This opinion about gaming and media is such a "kids these days" meme. I was mature enough to be capable of self-regulation but that didn't help the sleep deprivation due to early school start times.