Major Studies and Other Resources

Top Studies

Top Studies

For additional studies about adolescent sleep patterns, sleep loss, and the consequences of early high school start times, see our RESEARCH AND REFERENCE LIST.

Research List

Key Position Statements

• Watson NF, Martin JL, Wise MS, Carden KA, Kirsch DB, Kristo DA, Malhotra RK, Olson EJ, Ramar K, Rosen IM, Rowley JA, Weaver TE, Chervin RD. Delaying middle school and high school start times promotes student health and performance: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017;13(4):623–625.
• Paruthi S, Brooks LJ, D'Abrosio et al. Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine on the Recommended Amount of Sleep for Healthy Children: Methodology and Discussion. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. J Clin Sleep Med 2016;12(11):1549-1561.
• Barnes, M., Davis, K., Mancini, M., Ruffin, J., Simpson, T., Casazza, K. (2016). Setting adolescents up for success: Promoting a policy to delay high school start times. Journal of School Health, 86(7), 552-557.
• American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Backs American Academy of Pediatrics call to start middle and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. September 2, 2014.
• "American Academy of Pediatrics. Recommends that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. for the sake of sleep, health, and learning. August 25, 2014.
• American Medical Association. Encourages middle and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. for adolescent wellness. June 14, 2016. [Policy Statement]
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Recommends that middle and high schools push back start times to 8:30 a.m. or later. August 6, 2015.
• American Psychological Association. Later School Start Times Promote Adolescent Well-Being. 2014.​
• Adolescent Sleep Working Group, Committee on Adolescence, and Committee on School Health. Sleep and school start times. Pediatrics. September 1, 2014. (Policy Statement that middle and high schools should start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.)

Studies Assessing Adolescent Sleep Patterns

• Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock. Back to School and Back to Sleep: Sleep Patterns of Teenagers Worldwide. August 27, 2015.
• Anne G. Wheaton, Gabrielle A. Ferro, and Janet B. Croft. School Start Times for Middle School and High School Students — United States, 2011–12 School Year. MMWR. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. August 6, 2015.
• Meltzer LJ, Shaheed K, Ambler D. Start Later, Sleep Later: School Start Times and Adolescent Sleep in Homeschool Versus Public/ Private School Students. Behavioral Sleep Medicine 14:140–154, 2016.
  
• Matthew Kirby, Stefania Maggi, and Amedeo D’Angiulli. School Start Times and the Sleep–Wake Cycle of Adolescents: A Review and Critical Evaluation of Available Evidence. Educational Researcher 2011 40(2):56–61.​
  
• ​Sleep Cycle/Northcube. The Sleepiest Teens Live in Belgium. (Report on Average Wake Times and Sleep Length Worldwide, based on Sleep Cycle data). November 27, 2014.

Major Reports and Reviews

• Diana Zuckerman, PhD. Early Morning Classes, Sleep Students, and Risky Behaviors. National Center for Health Research. n.d.
• New Jersey Department of Education. Final Report of the Study Group on Later School Start Times. April 2017.
• Missoula School Start Times White Paper. April 2017.
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Asleep At The Wheel:  A National Compendium of Efforts to Eliminate Drowsy Driving. March 20, 2017.
• Governor's Highway Safety Administration. Wake Up Call! Understanding Drowsy Driving and What States Can Do. August 8, 2016. In this report, funder with a grant from State Farm, the GHSA shines a spotlight on the often overlooked issue of drowsy driving. This new report examines the causes and effects of drowsy driving, including too-early school start times, as well as how State Highway Safety Offices and safety advocates can address this challenging problem. ​
• ​Still Sleepless in America: The paradox of local control in education. Education and Health. Vol.33 No.2, June 2015.
• Ashland, MA Public Schools. School Start Times Resource Page.
• Seattle Bell Time Task Force Report. 2015.
• Rio Americano Parent Engagement Group. Healthy High School Start Times: A Powerful Tactic to Support Student Health and Learning. Updated September 2015.
• ​Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Report on Safe and Healthy School Hours.  December 2014.
• ​The School and School District Structure Study Group. Later School Start Times for Adolescents: A 2020 Vision for Public Education in Ulster County. The Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach, SUNY New Paltz. Ulster County School Boards Association, August 2014.
• ​Child Trends. Are the Children Well? A Model and Recommendations for Promoting the Mental Wellness of the Nation’s Young People. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2014 Report.
• ​Karafin, G.R. Teen Sleep Issues and School Start Times, Part II. Pennsylvania Psychologist June 2013;73(6): 22, 25.
• Karafin, G.R. Teen Sleep Issues and School Start Times, Part I. Pennsylvania Psychologist June 2013;73(6): 20, 22.
• NPR/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health. Education and Health in Schools: A Survey of Parents Summary. September 2013 (pp. 10, 21 show % of parents reporting early school start times)
• ​Fairfax County Public Schools. 2007 Transportation Task Force Report on Later School Start Times. Appendix U: Community Impacts from Other Jurisdictions Changing to Later HS Start Times, And Other Local Data.\
• ​Jeff Deitz, M.D. Children's Sleep: Time for a Wake-up Call. HuffPost 12/11/11
• Nicholas Christakis and Erika Christakis. Why are we depriving our teens of sleep? Later start times would improve school performance, so why can't we make the switch? ​TimeIdeas. Nov. 18, 2011.

Slide Shows and Videos

Resource Kits

Case Studies

Several downloadable Slideshares and PowerPoint presentations developed by Start School Later leaders for talks in their respective communities are available to others who want to use or adapt them, or parts of them, in efforts to share information about adolescent sleep and school start times. Please CONTACT US for more information.

Other Recommended Videos:

• The Future of Education: Later Start Times. December 17, 2013.​
  
• Susan Redline, MD, MPH. Peter C. Farrell Professor of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Later School Start: Highlight from How America's Sleep Deficit is Damaging Longterm Health. (YOUTUBE video). March 7, 2012.

• ​​School Start Time Research and Teens & Sleep Resources (Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, University of Minnesota.
• Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvment. School Start Time Research and Sleep. This series of recorded presentations from an October 2013 national conference on teens and sleep sponsored by the University of Minnesota's CAREI provides a comprehensive overview of research on teen sleep and associated key issues including basic biology and policy implications, including the need to start school later.​

2005 Case Studies from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF):
The following five case studies, put together by the National Sleep Foundation in 2005, show ways that  various school districts returned to later, more developmentally appropriate school hours. Each profile includes information about the bell schedules before and after the change, a profile of each school district, specific challenges, and corresponding solutions - as well as how changes were made and managed and what benefits were accomplished.

• NSF: Changing School Start Times: Arlington, VA Changing School Start Times: Arlington, VA: CS.Arlington.pdf
• NSF: Changing School Start Times: Denver, CO Changing School Start Times: Denver, CO: CS.Denver.pdf
• NSF: Changing School Start Times: Fayette, KY Changing School Start Times: Fayette, KY: CS.Fayette.pdf
• NSF: Changing School Start Times: Jessamine, KY Changing School Start Times: Jessamine, KY: CS.Jessamine.pdf
• NSF: Changing School Start Times: Wilton, CT Changing School Start Times: Wilton, CT: CS.Wilton.pdf

The following case report shows how the Palo Alto, CA community went about addressing, and ultimately, resolving this issue:

• PTAC Student Sleep Subcommittee Initial Report