Burning candles

It was nearly 20 years ago that I first learned about the efforts to delay school start time in hopes that it might help sleep deprived teenagers become better students. From its epicenter in greater Minneapolis, this low amplitude groundswell has rattled a few school districts to change their schedules. But, it hasn’t really caught on. When it was considered here in Brunswick about 15 years ago, parents and school board members were sympathetic to the plight of teenagers suffering from morning drowsiness. But, the cascade of schedule disruptions that would be triggered by tinkering with high school start times was too daunting, and the issue faded on everyone’s radar screens.

However, according to an article in the New York Times ("To Keep Teenagers Alert, Schools Let Them Sleep In," Jan Hoffman, March 13, 2014), the movement has rumbled to life in a variety of school districts across the country. Some of the resurgence in interest may be the result of recent data collected by researchers at the University of Minnesota. They found that teenagers who took advantage of the delayed starts by getting more sleep performed better academically and were involved in fewer motor vehicle crashes.

There is now a growing body of evidence linking sleep deprivation to a variety of ills including depression, hyperactivity, inattention, and migraine headaches, just to name a few. Research at Brown University by Mary Carskadon, Ph.D., suggests that the adolescent brain is chemically and structurally vulnerable to changes in sleep onset and duration. In her studies on humans and a variety of small mammals Dr. Carskadon has demonstrated that while the adolescent brain is more capable at staying awake later in the day, it still requires the same amount of sleep as it did during prepuberty. In other words, if we allow teenagers to push back their bedtimes by 2 hours but continue to demand that they be in school at 7:30 in the morning, we will continue to see the behavioral and physiologic damage related to sleep deprivation. This is clearly a case of watching a generation of candles burning at both ends. The efforts to delay school start times address only the smoldering at one end of the candle.

While Dr. Carskadon’s research suggests that it is physiologically easier for teenagers to stay up later, it doesn’t mean that we need fan the flame by making it any easier. The result of one study has shown that teenagers got more sleep if their parents had set a bedtime ... even if it wasn’t enforced. They got even more if it was enforced.

In the recent University of Minnesota studies, 88% of the students had cell phones in their bedrooms. Other studies have shown that having a television or other electronic distraction in the bedroom delays sleep onset and shortens sleep duration. Clearly, there is abundance of room for change in the sleep onset side of equation if we want our teenagers to be less sleep deprived. But, parents need to initiate the change.

Unfortunately, some of this research has spawned a myth that teenagers are biologically predestined to stay up late and sleep late, and, there’s nothing we can do about it. The armed services have disproved this myth many times over. I’m not suggesting we turn our schools into boot camps. But, any community that is considering a delayed high school start time should make it part of broad and frank discussion about sleep hygiene. Merely allowing teenagers to sleep an extra hour doesn’t even address half of the problem of sleep deprivation.

Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics including "How to Say No to Your Toddler."

It was nearly 20 years ago that I first learned about the efforts to delay school start time in hopes that it might help sleep deprived teenagers become better students. From its epicenter in greater Minneapolis, this low amplitude groundswell has rattled a few school districts to change their schedules. But, it hasn’t really caught on. When it was considered here in Brunswick about 15 years ago, parents and school board members were sympathetic to the plight of teenagers suffering from morning drowsiness. But, the cascade of schedule disruptions that would be triggered by tinkering with high school start times was too daunting, and the issue faded on everyone’s radar screens.

However, according to an article in the New York Times ("To Keep Teenagers Alert, Schools Let Them Sleep In," Jan Hoffman, March 13, 2014), the movement has rumbled to life in a variety of school districts across the country. Some of the resurgence in interest may be the result of recent data collected by researchers at the University of Minnesota. They found that teenagers who took advantage of the delayed starts by getting more sleep performed better academically and were involved in fewer motor vehicle crashes.

There is now a growing body of evidence linking sleep deprivation to a variety of ills including depression, hyperactivity, inattention, and migraine headaches, just to name a few. Research at Brown University by Mary Carskadon, Ph.D., suggests that the adolescent brain is chemically and structurally vulnerable to changes in sleep onset and duration. In her studies on humans and a variety of small mammals Dr. Carskadon has demonstrated that while the adolescent brain is more capable at staying awake later in the day, it still requires the same amount of sleep as it did during prepuberty. In other words, if we allow teenagers to push back their bedtimes by 2 hours but continue to demand that they be in school at 7:30 in the morning, we will continue to see the behavioral and physiologic damage related to sleep deprivation. This is clearly a case of watching a generation of candles burning at both ends. The efforts to delay school start times address only the smoldering at one end of the candle.

While Dr. Carskadon’s research suggests that it is physiologically easier for teenagers to stay up later, it doesn’t mean that we need fan the flame by making it any easier. The result of one study has shown that teenagers got more sleep if their parents had set a bedtime ... even if it wasn’t enforced. They got even more if it was enforced.

In the recent University of Minnesota studies, 88% of the students had cell phones in their bedrooms. Other studies have shown that having a television or other electronic distraction in the bedroom delays sleep onset and shortens sleep duration. Clearly, there is abundance of room for change in the sleep onset side of equation if we want our teenagers to be less sleep deprived. But, parents need to initiate the change.

Unfortunately, some of this research has spawned a myth that teenagers are biologically predestined to stay up late and sleep late, and, there’s nothing we can do about it. The armed services have disproved this myth many times over. I’m not suggesting we turn our schools into boot camps. But, any community that is considering a delayed high school start time should make it part of broad and frank discussion about sleep hygiene. Merely allowing teenagers to sleep an extra hour doesn’t even address half of the problem of sleep deprivation.

Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics including "How to Say No to Your Toddler."

It was nearly 20 years ago that I first learned about the efforts to delay school start time in hopes that it might help sleep deprived teenagers become better students. From its epicenter in greater Minneapolis, this low amplitude groundswell has rattled a few school districts to change their schedules. But, it hasn’t really caught on. When it was considered here in Brunswick about 15 years ago, parents and school board members were sympathetic to the plight of teenagers suffering from morning drowsiness. But, the cascade of schedule disruptions that would be triggered by tinkering with high school start times was too daunting, and the issue faded on everyone’s radar screens.

However, according to an article in the New York Times ("To Keep Teenagers Alert, Schools Let Them Sleep In," Jan Hoffman, March 13, 2014), the movement has rumbled to life in a variety of school districts across the country. Some of the resurgence in interest may be the result of recent data collected by researchers at the University of Minnesota. They found that teenagers who took advantage of the delayed starts by getting more sleep performed better academically and were involved in fewer motor vehicle crashes.

There is now a growing body of evidence linking sleep deprivation to a variety of ills including depression, hyperactivity, inattention, and migraine headaches, just to name a few. Research at Brown University by Mary Carskadon, Ph.D., suggests that the adolescent brain is chemically and structurally vulnerable to changes in sleep onset and duration. In her studies on humans and a variety of small mammals Dr. Carskadon has demonstrated that while the adolescent brain is more capable at staying awake later in the day, it still requires the same amount of sleep as it did during prepuberty. In other words, if we allow teenagers to push back their bedtimes by 2 hours but continue to demand that they be in school at 7:30 in the morning, we will continue to see the behavioral and physiologic damage related to sleep deprivation. This is clearly a case of watching a generation of candles burning at both ends. The efforts to delay school start times address only the smoldering at one end of the candle.

While Dr. Carskadon’s research suggests that it is physiologically easier for teenagers to stay up later, it doesn’t mean that we need fan the flame by making it any easier. The result of one study has shown that teenagers got more sleep if their parents had set a bedtime ... even if it wasn’t enforced. They got even more if it was enforced.

In the recent University of Minnesota studies, 88% of the students had cell phones in their bedrooms. Other studies have shown that having a television or other electronic distraction in the bedroom delays sleep onset and shortens sleep duration. Clearly, there is abundance of room for change in the sleep onset side of equation if we want our teenagers to be less sleep deprived. But, parents need to initiate the change.

Unfortunately, some of this research has spawned a myth that teenagers are biologically predestined to stay up late and sleep late, and, there’s nothing we can do about it. The armed services have disproved this myth many times over. I’m not suggesting we turn our schools into boot camps. But, any community that is considering a delayed high school start time should make it part of broad and frank discussion about sleep hygiene. Merely allowing teenagers to sleep an extra hour doesn’t even address half of the problem of sleep deprivation.

Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics including "How to Say No to Your Toddler."